Vedanta Aluminium, the largest aluminum producer in India, announced on National Energy Conservation Day a significant new breakthrough in the lining design of the ‘pots’ at its aluminum smelters. These smelters house several potlines, which are long buildings within the smelter that contain a series of ‘pots’, or large electrolytic cells, within which aluminum production via smelting is carried out.

The ‘Vedanta Lining Design’ is a patented, energy-efficient technique that provides the dual advantages of increased energy efficiency and enhanced lifespan of the smelting pots, reducing energy consumption by 200 to 250 KWh per tonne of aluminum produced.

The innovation has also been recognized by the Ministry of Power’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) as part of its National Energy Efficiency Innovation Awards (NEEIA) 2023, in the presence of the Hon’ble President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu. On the occasion of National Energy Conservation Day, this prestigious recognition comes as a strong reaffirmation of the company’s commitment to championing energy efficiency and conservation through transformative innovations within the global aluminum industry.

Its initiatives in this regard also closely align with the UN Sustainable Development Goals of Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure (SDG9), Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG12), and Climate Action (SDG13).

The new lining technique was designed using numerical computational modeling techniques that simulate electrical and thermal behavior within the smelting pots. After a successful year-long trial, the design is now ready to be deployed across its smelters, including Vedanta Jharsuguda in Odisha, one of the largest aluminum smelters in the world, and at BALCO, India’s iconic aluminum smelter based in Korba, Chhattisgarh. It is projected to reduce GHG emissions by up to 3.86 lakh tCO2e (tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) generated per annum on complete deployment at its largest smelter in Jharsuguda alone.

Vedanta Aluminium has also launched its second annual Climate Action Report, aligned with the Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The TCFD framework comprises a set of guidelines to help companies disclose climate-related financial risks and opportunities to their stakeholders. The thorough report transparently outlines the company’s all-encompassing strategy for achieving its sustainability targets over the short, medium, and long terms. The complete report is available on the company’s website.

As part of its innovation, the company has also successfully integrated graphitization into its pot lining design, a process that makes the properties of the cathodes used in aluminum production more akin to graphite - an excellent conductor of electricity known for its stability at high temperatures. The process enables the cathodes, crucial to the smelting process, display enhanced electrical conductivity, contributing to more energy efficiency and sustainable operations. The deployment is nearing completion in both smelter locations. Vedanta Aluminium has committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, implementing a series of impactful energy conservation measures in FY23, and achieving a total of 1.4 million gigajoules (GJ) in energy savings. By 2025, the company plans to derive 7 percent of its total power consumption from renewables, utilizing 1.37 billion units of renewable energy in FY23 alone, which is equivalent to power generation of approximately 150 MW from a thermal power plant.

Stating that at Vedanta Aluminium, climate action is a key strategic pillar and business imperative, executed through a two-pronged strategy of mitigation and offsetting of the company’s carbon footprint, John Slaven, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium, said, “Energy management and conservation is an integral aspect of this entire effort, and we are therefore focused on leading the charge in this aspect within the aluminum industry. These include optimizing energy consumption and transitioning to sustainable energy alternatives, thereby setting new benchmarks in responsible production across the industry value chain.”

For more information: www.vedantaaluminium.com