India’s First cathode active materials plant by Altmin-ARCI

The plant is capable to produce 100 kilos of CAM per day, which will be India's first domestic CAM production for the Li-ion battery cells.

Hyderabad- Altmin, a battery materials company and ARCI under the direction of the Union Ministry of Science and Technology has established a 10 MW pilot plant for the production of Cathode Active Material (CAM) has been by the at the latter's site in Balapur, Hyderabad.

The plant is prepared to produce 100 kilos of CAM per day, which will be India's first attempt at domestic CAM production for the creation of advanced chemistry Li-ion battery cells. The partnership's first offering will be lithium ferrous phosphate (LFP), which is in high demand for use in the production of batteries for electric vehicles.

Altmin is supported by the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) as a technology partner and has received funding for the business's R&D initiatives. Altmin aims to create its own cell chemistries and emerge as a market leader in the production of domestically produced battery materials.

In this particular relationship with ARCI, Altmin has globally exclusive rights to the CAM created, while the private company has non-exclusive rights on the domestic front. Altmin asserts that major battery manufacturers in India and throughout the world have already expressed interest.

As a requirement for the anticipated CAM production and potential scale-up, the business has teamed with Yacimientos de Litio Bolivianos (YLB), Bolivia, to ensure a reliable and secure supply of battery-grade lithium carbonate.

Speaking on the launch, Mourya Sunkavalli, Founder & MD, Altmin, said that Initially the battery industry were focused over the NMC (Nickel- Manganese-Cobalt Oxide) batteries, but right after  Tesla's announcement in 2021, the globe is tilting towards LFP for ESS & mobility and Altmin has put in years of R&D, studied the market & the supply chain to come up with a technology that is fool-proof, economical and sustainable both in India and abroad". 

According to Altmin, its indigenous and cost-effective technology intends to stabilize the supply chain and provide an emissions-free, sustainable manufacturing module. It continues to function as a public-private partnership with ARCI and was established to support India's ACC-PLI scheme.

Tata Narsinga Rao, Director, ARCI said, “ARCI, being a translational materials research lab, has developed along with Altmin a novel process to make one of the key cathode materials (Lithium iron phosphate) which is a safe and low-cost material suitable for tropical conditions. ARCI has entered into agreements with Altmin for technology transfer and establishing a pilot facility at the incubator facility at ARCI.”

Altmin is a 'Leadership Member' of the India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA), which is leading the charge in creating a supportive and comprehensive environment for the Indian battery supply chain. In order to assist the creation of gigafactories in the nation, IESA's India Battery Manufacturing & Supply Chain Council (IBMSCC) project continues to play a crucial role in advancing the battery materials supply chain, including raw material sourcing and processing.