Hindalco is powering India’s first Namo Bharat Rapid Rail inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Gujarat, by supplying the copper metal used for making electric lines. The new Namo Bharat Rapid Rail, built on the Vande-Bharat platform and being introduced for inter-city travel, runs on electric lines that are made from copper. Hindalco is also a key supplier of the metal for the motors and internal wiring in the gleaming new-age trains in the country.
The Aditya Birla Group flagship’s copper is used in electrifying every two in three households in India, and about 95 per cent of the railway electrification, it said in a statement. Its newly developed Cu-Silver alloys are ushering in the next phase of high-speed and urban transportation, dedicated freight corridors and the rapidly expanding metro rail network. It is making progress to develop Copper-Magnesium alloys which will further upgrade the next generation, sustainable electrification.
Hindalco has one of the world’s largest single-location copper smelter complexes at Dahej in the Bharuch district of Gujarat with integrated port facilities and in order to meet the rising global demand for the metal, the company is expanding its copper smelting capacity at the facility, and is exploring to build a brownfield factory in Gujarat.
Gujarat is the epicenter of copper production not just in India but in the world after China as output surges and newer allied industries come up to meet demand, particularly from rapid urbanization of the country, windmills and turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles and batteries, and in everything involved with electrification.
“We are ramping up capacities and building new capabilities and innovative products as copper becomes a critical manufacturing component in India’s transition towards a developed economy and net zero emissions. Electric mobility and renewable energy sectors are driving the demand in a major way. We are also setting up India’s first e-waste recycling plant in Dahej which will further enhance the country’s capabilities in copper recycling and reinforcing Hindalco’s leadership in green practices,” said Rohit Pathak, CEO – Copper business, Hindalco.
Hindalco’s copper sales topped 500,000 tonnes for the first time in FY2023-24. Hindalco’s existing unit at Dahej comprises copper smelters, backed by a captive power plant, oxygen plants, by-product and precious metal plants, utilities and a captive jetty.
The company is building India’s largest Copper Inner Groove Tube plant at Wagodia, Gujarat. The project will be commissioned by the end of this calendar year and will reduce the import dependence for this key component in air conditioners. The company has also started work on the first and the largest e-waste and copper recycling facility in Dahej.
From: financialexpress
Financial News
