AL Circle x Altmin: Scaling India’s LFP battery ecosystem through innovation and automation

Anjani Sri Mourya Sunkavalli, Founder and MD of Altmin, is a visionary entrepreneur with expertise in market research, business development and political observation. With a background in Mass Communication, Political Science and Government Affairs from St. Mary’s College, Hyderabad, he has been proactive in addressing societal and industrial needs, from introducing affordable sanitiser solutions in public transport to pioneering lithium supply chain development for India. Since 2019, Mourya has focused on securing lithium resources from South America, working closely with government bodies like TSMDC, KABIL and NITI Aayog to strengthen India’s self-reliance in critical minerals and battery technologies. The interview highlights Altmin’s role in scaling India’s LFP battery ecosystem through innovation, automation, and a strategic vision to meet the country’s growing EV and energy storage demands.

AL Circle: With your Gigafactory scheduled to commence operations in Q4FY26-27 and targeting a production capacity of 100,000 MTPA by 2030, what production volume do you anticipate in the initial two years to effectively support the demand of 150 GWh LFP in India? 

Mourya Sunkavalli: The Gigafactory is slated to begin production at 10,000 MTPA for FY 26-27 which translates to 4 GWh. At this scale we can cater to most of our prospective customers who are also going to be setting up their manufacturing on a similar timeline. The year after that, we are set to ramp up production to 20,000 MTPA or 8 GWh. At this stage, if the cell manufacturing ecosystem scales according to their plans, we will meet the demands of our customers but there will certainly be room to grow into 40,000 MTPA by 2030 and our vision for 100,000 MTPA beyond 2030 will cater to 30 per cent of India’s demand at the time.

AL Circle: What makes your LFP CAM stand out from other LFP CAM Manufacturers currently available in the domestic market? 

Mourya Sunkavalli: Altmin is the only LFP CAM producer in India ready to produce at commercial scale. But even if other LFP outfits are set up, our technology developed in collaboration with ARCI and WMG has surpassed the testing parameters for the country’s most prominent cell manufacturers who have tested our Flagship products for ESS and EV four-wheelers extensively. We are confident that the headstart and early investments we have made into R&D will pay huge dividends as we are ready to meet the demands of India’s upcoming battery ecosystem.

AL Circle: How does Industry 4.0 and digitalisation currently influence your operations and with the upcoming launch of your new Gigafactory, are you planning to further integrate advanced digital technologies into the plant’s ecosystem?

Mourya Sunkavalli: Our upcoming Gigafactory will be fully automated with Minimal Human Intervention required for any step in our production process. This has been the blueprint at our pilot factory and will continue into the Gigafactory as well. We are preparing for the future, and Industry 4.0 is an integral aspect to consider for any manufacturing outfit of today.  

AL Circle: From your perspective, what is the projected trajectory for electric vehicle (EV) production and demand growth in India over the coming years?

Mourya Sunkavalli: India’s domestic manufacturers have done an excellent job in cracking the formula for EV success. A car is always going to be an emotional purchase for the Indian consumer and the domestic players have shown how tapped in they are. With international players like Tesla entering the fray, the market will shift fast and upstream manufacturing can also come to India from overseas.