Now Reading: Epsilon gets nod for lithium-ion battery anode project
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Epsilon gets nod for lithium-ion battery anode project
Epsilon Advanced Materials has received government approval for its graphite anode project under the ECMS scheme, becoming the only company to get the nod for anode material in this tranche. The company has already commissioned India's first graphite anode customer qualification plant, EAM-ONE, in Vijayanagar, Karnataka.
Epsilon plans to scale graphite anode capacity to 30,000 tonnes per annum by 2028 and 100,000 tonnes in a second phase, with most output meant for export to US customers. The company will break ground on a 30,000-tonne plant in Karnataka before end of the year and commission by early 2028, according to managing director Vikram Handa.
However, Nikkei Asia reports that Indian battery material firms face a lack of domestic customers because Chinese technology transfer restrictions have delayed or stalled lithium-ion cell manufacturing by Indian companies such as Ola Electric, despite a government subsidy program. Epsilon sources lithium from China, Australia and South America.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Business Today frames the approval as a milestone for domestic battery supply chain, quoting the company's expansion plans and export strategy without addressing the demand side. Nikkei Asia leads with the gap between material production and cell manufacturing, attributing delays to Chinese technology restrictions. The pro-government framing in BT omits the cell-making bottleneck that Nikkei highlights. A careful reader should note that India's battery ecosystem faces a classic chicken-and-egg problem: anode capacity is scaling ahead of cell production, creating a reliance on export markets. The key number to watch is 30,000 tonnes of anode capacity versus the 15 GWh cell capacity it can support, and whether domestic cell makers can absorb that by 2028.
Coverage: 2 sources, 1 pro-government, 1 government-critical
Sources (2): businesstoday.in (pro government), asia.nikkei.com (government critical)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
