Hindalco Industries announces ₹21,000 crore smelter expansion in Odisha

The metals major is adding 3.6 lakh tonnes a year of primary aluminium capacity at the site, alongside commissioning a 1.7 lakh tonnes a year flat rolled products (FRP) mill

Metals giant Hindalco Industries on Tuesday announced a ₹21,000 crore expansion of its aluminium smelter in Odisha, and commissioned two downstream facilities, marking one of the company’s biggest domestic capacity additions. 

 

The projects were inaugurated by Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at the company’s Aditya Aluminium complex in Sambalpur.

 

The metals major is adding 3.6 lakh tonnes per annum of primary aluminium capacity at the site, alongside commissioning a 1.7 lakh-tpa flat-rolled products (FRP) mill and India’s first battery-grade aluminium foil plant, built at an investment of ₹4,500 crore.

 

The battery-foil unit will directly supply the fast-growing lithium-ion cell manufacturing industry and can support up to 100 GWh of annual cell production, the company said in an exchange filing.

 

 

The expansion is part of Hindalco’s ₹37,000 crore investment pipeline in Odisha, and contributes to its broader ₹55,000 crore capex plan across India in upstream and downstream operations.

 

With nearly 40 per cent of India’s flat-rolled aluminium currently imported, the enhanced FRP capacity is expected to reduce this dependence by almost half, strengthening domestic manufacturing and improving cost competitiveness, the company said.

 

A portion of the new smelter’s power requirement will be met through round-the-clock renewable energy, marking a shift towards lower-carbon aluminium production. Hindalco’s existing Odisha operations employ about 23,000 people, and the new projects are expected to generate over 15,000 additional direct and indirect jobs.

 

Highlighting the strategic significance, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said the expansion advances the goal of building a “fully integrated aluminium ecosystem” that supports India’s manufacturing self-reliance. Over the past 15 years, the company has invested more than ₹25,000 crore in Odisha across mining, refining, smelting and downstream processing.