Epsilon Advanced Materials Signs MoU with Karnataka Govt to invest Rs 9,000 crore

Project will focus on manufacturing anode material graphite for Lithium-ion batteries in line with the ‘Make in Karnataka’ vision; potentially catering to 10 million EVs.

By Autocar Professional Bureau

03 Nov 2022

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Epsilon Advanced Materials, a wholly owned subsidiary of Epsilon Carbon, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Karnataka to invest Rs 9,000 crore ($1.1 billion) to establish battery material manufacturing plants in the state, over a span of 10 years.

As part of the agreement, Epsilon Advanced Materials will set up an anode material production plant. The facility will employ 75 percent local people to support economic development in the region. The Government of Karnataka will facilitate Epsilon Advanced Materials in obtaining the necessary registrations, approvals, clearances and incentives.

On signing the MoU with the Government of Karnataka, Vikram Handa, Managing Director, Epsilon Advanced Materials said, “We are dedicated to investing in sustainable projects prioritising clean energy like electric vehicles. By utilising raw materials and indigenous technologies to manufacture EV battery components, we aspire to support the sustainable goal of the Government of India to achieve sales of seven million hybrid and electric vehicles every year. We are delighted to be partnering with the Government of Karnataka on this front and look forward to building a world class facility to support Indian and Global customers with high performance battery materials.”

90 percent of Lithium-ion EV batteries use graphite as the anode since it is cost efficient, has a long - life cycle and is resistant to higher operating temperatures.

The anode material production plant collaboration will help build a sustainable EV ecosystem in the state which houses 45-plus EV start-ups, 400 research and development (R&D) centres and the upcoming EV cluster. Epsilon Advanced Materials will build a R&D facility to develop high performance graphite anodes enhancing durability and fast charging for EV vehicles.

More than 90 percent of graphite anodes are manufactured in China today and Epsilon Advanced Materials aims to support India in this energy transition journey with this investment in Karnataka, the company said in a statement.