Hindalco set to localise battery foils for lithium-ion cells this year • EVreporter

EVreporter’s interaction with Nilesh Koul, Senior President & CEO – Downstream Aluminium Business at Hindalco Industries Ltd.

Hindalco Industries Ltd., the metals flagship of the Aditya Birla Group and one of the world’s largest aluminium companies, is investing INR 800 crores to construct a 25,000-ton capacity plant in Orissa to produce battery-grade aluminium foil.

This interaction discusses the company’s plans for the battery component business.

What are the synergies between Hindalco’s metal business and producing components for lithium-ion cells and batteries?

Lithium-ion is a very interesting technology for Hindalco. All three metals that Hindalco works with —aluminium, copper, and Specialty Alumina —have applications in lithium-ion batteries. Aluminium foil acts as a cathode substrate, copper foil as an anode substrate, and Specialty Alumina works as a ceramic coating.

Beyond lithium-ion cells, aluminium has immense applications in electric vehicles, primarily due to two key factors.

It is a very thermally stable material, and the heat dissipation of aluminium is much superior. Aluminium is more malleable and lightweight than most other metals. These factors make it a metal of choice for battery enclosures and other mechanical components of the battery pack. So there’s a lot of synergy, and lithium-ion batteries is a very logical space to be in.

We also have a highly automated EV Battery enclosures fabrication line in Pune. We have successfully delivered 10,000 aluminium battery enclosures for Mahindra’s new electric SUVs, BE 6 and XEV 9e. The delivery marks a significant step in India’s clean mobility journey.

Apart from the aluminium foils for the cathode current collector, what other components do you plan to manufacture?

Regarding entry into copper foil or Specialty Alumina / boehmite, both are at an early stage, and it will take some time for the development plans to be formalised.

What parts of the foil manufacturing value chain does Hindalco cover?

Hindalco operates bauxite mines in India. We are a fully integrated company. From these Bauxite mines to the final aluminium foil plant, this is a 100% Make in India product.

What percentage of a lithium-ion cell value can you attribute to the foil?

Depending on the battery chemistry, the battery foil accounts for approximately 4 to 5% of the bill of materials for lithium-ion cells.

Who would be your customers for the battery foil?

Cell manufacturers will be our customers.

Cell manufacturing requires coating of the cathode and subsequent calendaring. Coating involves two steps: creating the slurry and applying it to a substrate. Battery-grade aluminium foil is the substrate.

A cell manufacturer would source the aluminium foil, make the cathode slurry, apply that slurry to the foil, dry it, and subsequently calender it.

What capacity of cell manufacturing will your upcoming Orissa plant be able to support?

Assuming 250 tons of aluminium consumption per GWh, 25,000 tons of battery foil would support nearly 100 GWh of cell production.

What is the expected schedule for the start of production at the Orissa plant? Please also provide us with an overview of the customer qualification process and timeline.

This project is expected to start production by the end of October 2025.

The qualification process depends on the customer. The product must undergo various stages of qualification using different samples, and each sample requires a minimum of a few months.

Early customer qualification is already underway through our plant in Mouda (near Nagpur).

What other localisation opportunities do you see in the cell value chain?

There is a significant opportunity to localise copper foil. Aluminium finds applications in the mechanical components of cell, bus bars, EV enclosures, and fabrication trays. There is a considerable amount of localisation possible on the metals side.

Many Indian carbon companies are also actively working on anode materials.

Could you discuss any policy support you have received from the government?

We have been working very closely with various stakeholders as part of industry associations and highlighting the importance of supporting the localisation of these particular components.

Specifically, regarding this particular project of aluminium foil, there is no PLI at the moment. However, for subsequent investments, we look forward to engaging further with the government and exploring what can be best determined for the industry.

This interview was first published in EVreporter May 2025 magazine.

Also read: Hindalco supplies battery enclosures to Mahindra from Chakan plant