New Delhi: Epsilon Advanced Materials has received approval for ₹145 crore in capital expenditure support from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme, providing a government boost to its plans for indigenous graphite anode material production in India.
The support is equivalent to 25% of the capital investment in Epsilon’s C2GR anode material project, according to the company. Graphite anode material is a critical component used in lithium-ion cells across electric vehicles, energy storage systems and consumer electronics.
Epsilon said it is the only company in the latest tranche of ECMS approvals to receive clearance for manufacturing anode material, placing the project within the government’s broader effort to develop a domestic supply chain for strategically important battery components.
The Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme has so far approved 106 projects across 30 products, representing investments of ₹69,548 crore and projected production valued at ₹5.34 lakh crore.
For India’s battery industry, the approval addresses a less glamorous but increasingly important part of the electric mobility story. Vehicles may get the headlines, but without materials such as graphite anodes, even the most ambitious battery factory has very little to charge.
Epsilon targets 30,000-tonne capacity by 2028
Epsilon’s project is focused on developing indigenous technology and large-scale manufacturing capability for graphite anode materials to meet demand from electric mobility, energy storage and digital and consumer electronics sectors.
The company has already commissioned EAM-ONE, which it describes as India’s first graphite anode material customer qualification plant, at Vijayanagar in Karnataka.
Epsilon is now progressing towards commercial-scale manufacturing following the MeitY approval. The company plans to expand its graphite anode production capacity to 30,000 tonnes per annum by 2028, followed by 100,000 tonnes in the second phase.
The planned expansion comes as India seeks to increase domestic value addition in battery manufacturing and reduce reliance on imported critical materials.
Vikram Handa, Managing Director, Epsilon Group, said:
“The project approval under ECMS is an important recognition of Epsilon’s efforts to develop indigenous graphite anode technology and manufacturing capabilities in India. Building a resilient battery ecosystem requires ownership of technology, intellectual property, R&D and process know-how. This support will help accelerate our scale-up and strengthen India’s domestic battery materials value chain. We remain committed to contributing to the Government’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat by building globally competitive critical battery materials from India.”
Indigenous R&D and intellectual property form key part of project
Epsilon said its graphite anode material programme is based on domestically developed technology supported by in-house research and development and intellectual property.
Its capabilities include material development, process optimisation and electrochemical validation. The company conducts testing using coin-cell, pouch-cell and multi-layer pouch-cell formats to develop and customise materials according to customer requirements.
Epsilon has filed 43 patents covering process, product and equipment technologies and plans to develop 50 additional intellectual properties through 2030.
The focus on intellectual property is significant because building a domestic battery ecosystem involves more than installing manufacturing equipment. Control over material formulations, production processes and technical know-how can determine how much of the value created by the battery industry ultimately remains within the country.
Part of broader battery materials push
The graphite anode programme forms part of Epsilon Group’s wider strategy to build an integrated advanced battery materials ecosystem.
The company is combining indigenous technology development, research capabilities, intellectual property, customer qualification programmes and planned manufacturing expansion as it seeks to increase domestic production of critical battery materials.
The MeitY approval also adds momentum to India’s wider push to localise the electronics and battery supply chains at a time when demand for electric vehicles, stationary energy storage and electronic devices is expanding.
For India, developing domestic graphite anode manufacturing could become an important part of moving beyond battery assembly towards deeper localisation of the materials and technologies that determine cost, performance and supply-chain resilience. Epsilon’s proposed scale-up will now be closely watched as the country attempts to turn its self-reliance ambitions into industrial capacity on the ground.
