Birla Carbon, a group company of the diversified Aditya Birla Group, has acquired Nanocyl, a multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) manufacturer based in Sambreville, Belgium.

The acquisition will help Birla Carbon, a manufacturer and supplier of carbon black, expand its presence in materials critical to lithium-ion battery performance.

Birla Carbon provides sustainable carbon black solutions that enhance the performance of energy systems, among other products.

The company said Nanocyl’s advanced MWCNTs provide Birla Carbon with a range of solutions for conductive applications.

MWCNTs find applications in batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).

The companies did not disclose the value of the acquisition.

Santrupt Misra, Group Director, Birla Carbon, said, “The company is concentrating on investing in sustainability and circularity-driven initiatives led by innovation in order to be future-ready, and this acquisition stems from that. We hope that this partnership will enable Birla Carbon to be a significant player in the emerging energy systems space.”

“Birla Carbon’s R&D expertise, portfolio of products, and market experience will enable Nanocyl and our products to reach their full growth potential,” said Laurent Kosbach, Chief Executive Officer, Nanocyl.

This acquisition is the latest among a slew of global acquisitions in the renewable energy space by Indian companies such as Reliance New Energy Limited, which acquired all assets of Lithium Werks, a cobalt-free Lithium Iron Phosphate battery manufacturer, for $61 million in March last year.

According to Wood Mackenzie, the global lithium-ion battery capacity is likely to rise over five-fold to 5,500 GWh between 2021 and 2030, keeping in count the various pipeline capacities announced to meet the rising demand for batteries. The worldwide EV market accounts for almost 80% of lithium-ion battery demand.