Epsilon Carbon To Make Graphite Anode Materials For Lithium-Ion Batteries

Epsilon Carbon is planning to invest Rs 500 crore over next five years to manufacture graphite anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, thus making a foray into the battery materials business.

This new vertical will be housed under a new subsidiary, Epsilon Advanced Materials, the maker of coal tar derivatives said in a statement on Monday.

"The purpose of setting up the subsidiary is to become preferred supplier of synthetic graphite material to cell manufacturers and energy storage device companies across the globe,” Epsilon Carbon said. “The company plans to invest Rs 500 crore in next five years to establish 50,000-tonne anode material capacity by 2025.”

The company has commissioned a new manufacturing facility in Karnataka to produce 5,000-tonne anode material annually. It plans to triple this capacity to 15,000 tonne in 2021 and 50,000 tonne per annum by 2025.

“The Covid-19 crisis has brought to the forefront the importance of India's economic recovery based on principles of Aatmanirbhar Bharat,” Epsilon Carbon’s Managing Director Vikram Handa said. “India is pushing an aggressive EV policy that encourages and ensures that the country's program keeps pace with the global developments.”

China, at present, supplies more than 80% of the global demand for graphite anodes to the entire lithium-ion battery supply chain.

"To make India self-reliant in e-mobility, the country is aiming towards establishing manufacturing leadership in the EV space,” Handa said. “Epsilon Advanced Materials' manufacturing leadership in graphite anodes will make India self-sufficient for a key raw material for LiB cells.”

Apart from the anode material manufacturing facility, Epsilon Advanced Materials has also set up a target-oriented R&D laboratory to cover a complete array of carbon material testing, as well as cell and pouch lithium battery cell testing, to improve the quality of the material, the company said in the statement.