What the site does
Atchutapuram, south of Visakhapatnam, is part of Andhra Pradesh's coastal industrial belt and lies close to the deep-water port facilities of India's east coast. The refinery opened in the APSEZ in 2022 to add refining capacity near shipping routes, complementing the Haldia works further north and giving southern and eastern campuses a second destination for their black mass. Feed arrives mainly by road from campuses in the south and east.
At 13,000 TPA, the refinery receives black mass from network campuses and registered processors and converts it into battery-grade nickel, cobalt and lithium salts. As one of the newer sites, it runs modern leaching and solvent-extraction lines, and its coastal location suits both inbound reagent supply and outbound shipment of finished material to manufacturers. Output batches carry full analysis certificates for producers' reporting.
What arrives at the gate
Feedstock at Atchutapuram, Andhra Pradesh reflects its catchment and plant type. Every consignment is weighed, photographed and logged against the originating manifest before it enters the process area.
- Black mass from southern and eastern Indian sites
- Third-party black mass from registered processors
- Cathode production scrap
- Permitted imported intermediates
The process, step by step
The 3 operating lines — black mass leaching, solvent extraction, battery-grade salt crystallisation — run the sequence below.
| Stage | What happens |
|---|---|
| Feed assay & sampling | Incoming black mass is homogenised and assayed by ICP-OES for Li, Ni, Co, Mn, Cu, Al and fluoride before it is released to leach. |
| Sulphuric acid leaching | Two-stage leach at 60–85 °C with peroxide reductant dissolves cathode metals at 96–99% extraction efficiency. |
| Impurity removal | Iron, aluminium and copper are precipitated and filtered; graphite is recovered as a separate low-ash cake. |
| Solvent extraction trains | Sequential Co, Ni and Mn circuits with counter-current mixer-settlers deliver individual metal raffinates. |
| Crystallisation & drying | Nickel and cobalt sulphate hexahydrate plus lithium carbonate are crystallised to 99.5%+ battery grade and bagged under nitrogen. |
| Batch certification | Every batch ships with a certificate of analysis, mass balance and chain-of-custody record for EPR and IRA reporting. |
What sets the site apart
East-coast port access. Close to Visakhapatnam's ports for inbound reagents and outbound refined salts.
Newer process lines. Opened in 2022 with current-generation leaching and solvent-extraction equipment.
Second eastern refinery. Adds east-coast refining capacity alongside the Haldia works.
Where material goes next
Material that Atchutapuram, Andhra Pradesh does not finish on site moves to the nearest specialist facility in the network, keeping transport distances and dwell times down.
| Facility | Role | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru — Hosur Diagnostics Centre | Cell Grading & Diagnostics | 761 km |
| Nagpur — Butibori Second-Life Works | Second-Life BESS Works | 558 km |
Field note