Hindalco announces major ₹21,000-crore aluminium smelter expansion plan

Hindalco said it planned to invest ₹ 21,000 crore in a smelter expansion with a capacity of 360,000 tonnes per annum at its Aditya Aluminium complex in Sambalpur

Aluminium producer Hindalco Industries Ltd on Tuesday announced a ₹21,000-crore smelter expansion and the commissioning of downstream manufacturing facilities for its aluminium operations in Odisha, as part of its growth capital expenditure programme.

 

In a press release, Hindalco, the world’s largest aluminium company by revenues, said it planned to invest ₹21,000 crore in a smelter expansion with a capacity of 360,000 tonnes per annum at its Aditya Aluminium complex in Sambalpur.

 

The Aditya Birla Group flagship also said it commissioned a flat rolled products facility and a battery-grade aluminium foil manufacturing unit with a combined capacity of 170,000 tonnes per annum, involving an investment of ₹4,500 crore.

   

“These projects were a major step in indigenising critical raw materials for lithium-ion batteries in India, supporting the electric mobility and energy storage ecosystem, while enhancing domestic capabilities in high-grade aluminium products,” the company said.

Focus on battery materials and domestic capability

Hindalco said the projects aimed to support domestic manufacturing of materials used in lithium-ion batteries and aluminium products.

 

The firm said the battery-grade aluminium foil facility was the first of its kind in India. “The battery-grade aluminium foil facility was designed to support up to 100 GWh of lithium-ion cell manufacturing capacity.”

 

Odisha investment and capital expenditure plans

 

The company said the projects formed part of a wider investment plan in the state.

 

“These projects formed part of Hindalco’s broader growth capital expenditure programme, with around ₹37,000 crore planned for Odisha across upstream and downstream aluminium operations,” the company said.

 

It added that the Odisha investments represented a significant portion of its overall growth capital expenditure of ₹55,000 crore across India.

 

Hindalco said it remained the largest flat rolled products producer in India, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the domestic market.

 

“With nearly 40 per cent of flat-rolled aluminium currently imported into India, the expanded FRP capacity was expected to reduce import dependence by nearly half,” the company said, adding that the expansion was expected to support domestic manufacturing.

 

The company also said the smelter expansion at Aditya Aluminium included plans to meet part of its power requirement through round-the-clock renewable energy.

 

Commenting on the expansion, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said the strategy focused on integration and sustainability.

 

“India’s manufacturing growth depends on integration, value addition and sustainability. Through Hindalco, we are building a fully integrated aluminium ecosystem that spans from upstream resources to high-value downstream products,” Birla said.

 

“Our long-standing partnership with Odisha continues to play an important role in this journey,” he added.

 

Birla said the approach strengthened domestic manufacturing and supported the transition towards advanced manufacturing systems.

Employment and future projects

Hindalco said its integrated operations currently provided employment to nearly 23,000 people, with the next phase expected to generate more than 15,000 additional direct and indirect jobs.

 

The company said its broader investment pipeline included the flat rolled products and battery foil facilities, the aluminium smelter expansion, the Kansariguda alumina refinery, the Meenakshi coal mine, specialised materials such as white fused alumina, and ancillary manufacturing units.