IFC makes first India battery materials bet with $50 million in Gujarat Fluorochemicals’ EV arm

Gujarat Fluorochemicals Ltd’s (GFL)subsidiary, GFCL EV Products, has secured a $50 million investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the company said on Friday, 5 December.

This marks IFC’s first bet on India’s battery-materials sector. The funding, through compulsorily convertible instruments, will support the development of the country’s first fully integrated battery-materials manufacturing facility, GFL said in an exchange filing.

Vivek Jain, chairman of the INOXGFL Group, said

IFC’s investment validates the company’s business model and long-term growth trajectory. “This milestone reinforces our vision for a greener future supported by IFC’s global expertise. Their investment is an endorsement of our differentiated model and strengthens our leadership in battery materials,” he said.

The company said the project is positioned to advance India’s energy-transition goals by boosting domestic manufacturing, strengthening supply-chain resilience, enabling import substitution and creating high-skilled jobs across the EV and energy-storage ecosystem.

GFCL EV, which has backward-integrated capabilities for key raw materials, currently manufactures lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6), electrolyte formulations and additives, LFP cathode active materials, and PVDF/PTFE binders — product lines that together account for more than half the bill of materials for an LFP cell.

GFL’s DMD and CEO, Bir Kapoor, said the partnership marks a breakthrough for India’s battery-materials landscape. “This capital raise enables us to scale up capacity for advanced battery materials, strengthening India’s position in global supply chains,” he noted.

IFC said the investment aligns with its broader effort to support India’s electric-mobility value chain and build competitive domestic manufacturing capabilities. “India has a clear opportunity to strengthen capacity in key battery materials and secure its place in the global market for advanced energy technologies,” said Imad N. Fakhoury, IFC’s regional division director for South Asia.

Carsten Mueller, IFC’s regional industry director for Asia, added that the partnership will help create an integrated one-stop platform for battery materials and support the localisation of high-value components.

GFL, part of the $18-billion INOXGFL Group, is one of India’s leading producers of fluoropolymers, fluorochemicals and battery materials, with three plants in Gujarat and a fluorspar mine in Morocco. GFCL EV focuses on integrated battery-materials solutions for the EV and energy-storage sectors.

The company reported a 47.9% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to ₹179 crore for the September 2025 quarter, compared with ₹121 crore a year earlier. Revenue rose 1.9% to ₹1,210 crore, while EBITDA grew 23.4% to ₹364 crore, expanding margins to 30% from 24.8%.

Shares of Gujarat Fluorochemicals were trading 1.27% higher at ₹3,391 as of 2:10 pm on Friday, though the stock has declined over 7% in the past month.