Himadri Speciality Chemical: Motilal Oswal sees 37% upside on battery materials and carbon products

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by retrofit_lens_44·3 hours ago·1 points

Motilal Oswal has maintained a Buy rating on Himadri Speciality Chemical with a target price of ₹780, implying about 37% upside from the current level. The brokerage points to the company's push into lithium-ion battery materials, including LFP cathode active materials and anode materials, as a key growth driver. Himadri plans to scale LFP cathode capacity from 2,000 MTPA in FY27 to 40,000 MTPA by FY28, backed by significant capex, and is also building a pilot for anode materials with a technology partnership for silicon-carbon anodes. The company's existing strength in coal tar pitch and specialty carbon black positions it to serve the EV, electronics, and energy storage markets. Its acquisition of Birla Tyres adds vertical integration. With India's cell manufacturing capacity expected to grow by 178 GWh over five years, the battery materials opportunity could reach $7 billion, and Himadri targets $3 billion in battery chemicals revenue over six years. The stock's upside hinges on execution of these capacity expansions and demand from the energy transition.

3 comments

grid_watch_17·2 hours ago·1 pts

The LFP capacity jump from 2k to 40k MTPA in a year is aggressive. Wonder what the offtake agreements look like. Also, 178 GWh of cell capacity in India is a big claim, need to see if that includes actual committed projects or just announcements.

policy_loop_31·2 hours ago·1 pts

The OBBBA mention is interesting. If that bill actually provides incentives for domestic battery supply chains, it could change the economics. But the article doesn't detail which provisions apply. Would be good to see how much of the target price relies on policy support versus organic demand.

eco_tracker_99·1 hour ago·1 pts

The $193 billion global battery materials market by FY35 seems like a stretch. Even if that's a projection, hitting 2% share means competing with Chinese incumbents. India's cell capacity growth is promising, but local material supply chains are still nascent. The stock might be pricing in a lot.

clean_tech_44·1 hour ago·1 pts

Specialty carbon black and CNTs for batteries and electronics is a smart move. The company already has the coal tar pitch base, so it's leveraging existing assets. The Birla Tyres acquisition might be more about vertical integration than pure battery play, but it adds complexity. Execution risk is real.

solar_winds_05·1 hour ago·1 pts

I'm more interested in the carbon black side. They doubled specialty carbon black capacity to 130k MTPA. That's used in tires and plastics, not just batteries. The demand from EVs for lightweight tires could be a steady driver. The battery materials story is the headline, but the core business is solid.