Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, makes a case for ‘green’ aluminium at the recently held national webinar by Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) of India. With its world class-aluminium smelters, metal expertise, global technology partnerships and deep R&D capabilities, Vedanta Aluminium has been a long-time partner to the auto industry, developing product solutions perfectly tailored to their evolving needs. The company is keen to partner with the automotive sector across the value chain, from large players to OEMs and MSMEs, for reducing the industry’s import dependence.

ACMA’s event, themed on ‘Light-weighting with Aluminium and Sustainability’ witnessed participation of top executives from key players in the auto, auto components and aluminium industry. Nikhil Bhagchandani, Dy. Director – Marketing, Vedanta Aluminium, highlighted the importance of ‘green’ aluminium (i.e. aluminium with low carbon footprint) in bolstering the endeavours of automakers to decarbonise their products. The company is India’s first to launch low carbon aluminium, branded ‘Restora’, for customers looking to source raw materials responsibly for creating a green value chain. Restora has a carbon footprint that is nearly half the global threshold for aluminium to be considered as low carbon. Its second green product, Restora Ultra, has an even lower carbon footprint, that is near-zero and is amongst the lowest in the world.

Aluminium is currently the second most used metal in vehicles and the fastest growing, a clear indication of the metal’s growing prominence in automobile manufacturing. With evolving consumer consciousness towards sustainability and tightening of emission norms, there has been a significant increase in aluminium usage in vehicles, be it battery electric vehicles (BEVs), hybrids or internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The reason being aluminium’s unique properties which lend themselves very well to the auto industry:

• Owing to its high strength-to-weight ratio, more aluminium in vehicles makes them significantly lighter, faster, easier to manoeuvre and high on performance.
• Light weighting of vehicles also reduces their fuel consumption, thereby helping with cost savings and reducing carbon footprint.
• In electric vehicles, increase in aluminium usage in the vehicle extends its driving range by offsetting battery weight, thereby reducing cost of ownership, even with addition of more safety features.
• Aluminium continues to drive vehicle safety as well, since pound for pound, aluminium can absorb twice the crash energy of mild steel.
• Highly malleable & ductile, aluminium also gives automakers exceptional design flexibility, across a wide range of applications – from car frames to engines, battery casings, doors & windows, wheels, and many other smaller components in between.
• Further, aluminium’s natural resistance to corrosion gives vehicles a longer life and reduces the need for frequent maintenance, again reducing cost of ownership.
• Finally, nearly 90% of all the aluminium used in a vehicle can be recycled at the end of its lifecycle, increasing the vehicle’s salvage value.

The Indian automotive industry, which is gradually adopting the advantages of aluminium, is poised to become the 3rd largest automotive market in terms of volume by 2030 (as per Invest India), propelled by electric vehicles, heavy vehicles and passenger vehicles. Prior to the pandemic, India’s auto component industry imports stood at $ 15.40 billion.

Ramachandra Rao, Chairman – ACMA CFT on Raw Materials, & Executive Chairman, Indo Schottle Auto Parts Pvt Ltd, said, “Aluminium is a critical raw material for the auto industry, as is evidenced by the metal’s increasing usage globally in automotive applications. As the Indian auto industry increasingly localises sourcing of raw materials, domestic aluminium manufacturers like Vedanta Aluminium can be ideal partners for automakers. Whether it is light weighting, environmentally-friendly products or new alloys, such partnerships can shape the future of our auto industry.” 

Vedanta Aluminium has been a catalysing force for the automotive industry, producing high-end alloys like Primary Foundry Alloy and Cylinder-head Alloy, which address automakers’ most pressing needs for cost, quality, safety and sustainability, with light weighting. Notably, both alloys were entirely being imported into India until Vedanta Aluminium started supplying them indigenously. As applications of aluminium in vehicles continues to rise, Vedanta Aluminium is rapidly expanding its value-added product portfolio for the auto industry. The company has also developed an online solution that brings together all of Vedanta’s products under one roof for customers, including after-sales technical support, logistics and financial solutions. Vedanta Aluminium currently produces one of the largest product ranges in aluminium, including billets, ingots, wire rods, rolled products, slabs and more. 

Speaking on the opportunities of indigenous development and localised sourcing of auto components and parts, Rahul Sharma, CEO – Vedanta Aluminium, said, “The national vision for self-reliance calls for increased focus on localizing sourcing of raw materials, parts and components by the Indian automotive industry. At Vedanta Aluminium, we offer our customers 360-degree holistic solutions to meet their evolving business needs, such as catering to their need for decarbonization with ‘Restora’, our low carbon aluminium brand. We are further keen to co-create innovative product solutions for new and emerging applications of aluminium in the automotive industry, and together with them shape the future of mobility.”