“Aluminium has become the metal of choice for sunrise sectors,” John Slaven, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium

John Slaven is the Chief Executive Officer of Vedanta Aluminium, India's largest producer of aluminium and among the top producers globally. He is a reputed leader in the industry with over three decades of rich experience in the metals, mining and modern manufacturing industries. Through diverse positions in industry-leading companies within these sectors, John has helped shape the overall domain in transformative ways. He previously held key leadership positions at Alcoa, BHP, and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in roles across the industry value chain from exploration, development, operations, strategy, finance, and sales & marketing.  Over the years, he has lived and worked in countries across the globe, including South Africa, the USA, China, Singapore, the Netherlands, Australia, and India, to name a few.

John holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Cape Town and a Master's in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

As CEO of Vedanta Aluminium, John is leading efforts to unlock the full potential of the company's world-class assets, expanding production to 3 MTPA of integrated volume to rank among the top 3 aluminium companies globally. As part of this effort, he is responsible for guiding Vedanta Aluminium's overall strategy to expedite business growth, prioritizing ESG efforts, and championing sustainable practices such as 'green' aluminium production. Under his leadership, Vedanta Aluminium has emerged as the most sustainable aluminium company in the world, as per the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023.

AL Circle: How do you envision the future of the aluminium industry over the next decade?

John Slaven: Aluminium has been critical to human progress ever since it first began to be mass produced in the 19^th century. With the world now pivoting to a low-carbon future led by a growing awareness of human impact on the environment, the importance of aluminium will only rise further. A global shift is already underway, and this transition is going to be metal-intensive with ‘green’ materials such as aluminium playing a significant role.

The myriad properties of aluminium, including a high strength-to-weight ratio, outstanding design flexibility, excellent electrical and thermal conductivity and strong corrosion resistance, have helped the metal lend itself to a wide range of applications. It has become the metal of choice for sunrise sectors such as renewables, electric vehicles, energy storage, and green infrastructure. In India alone, aluminium consumption is expanding rapidly and is expected to touch 10 million tonnes by 2033[1]. We, therefore, anticipate robust demand across the globe over the next decade, with an estimated 81% increase by 2050 as industries continue to intensify their decarbonisation efforts[2].

AL Circle: How has Vedanta Aluminium positioned itself in the global aluminium market?

John Slaven: Vedanta Aluminium is India’s largest producer of aluminium, responsible for nearly 50% of the country's output, with a production of 2.37 million tonnes in FY2024. However, our domain leadership extends beyond just production numbers. We are also accelerating the industry’s wider transformation with a consistent focus on sustainable business operations. This has led us to offer India’s first low-carbon aluminium, Restora, which is helping our downstream customers gain access to the raw materials that will help them decarbonise their operations.

Our products are also verified by Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) International as being environmentally sustainable [3] and are certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards for demonstrating high quality standards. Further, our smelting operations at BALCO, Chhattisgarh and Jharsuguda, Odisha, have been certified by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative. We are now on track to becoming a low-cost, completely vertically integrated producer, with operations extending from bauxite and coal mines to creating value-added products. This creates an attractive proposition for our customers, in terms of ensuring reliable access to high-quality, customised solutions offered at competitive prices.

AL Circle: How has Vedanta Aluminium's performance been over the past few years, and what are your expectations for the future?

John Slaven: Vedanta Aluminium has a demonstrated track record of operational excellence in terms of volume and cost, and we have continued to record strong business performance in recent years as well. In FY2023, we achieved our highest-ever aluminium production of 2.29 million tonnes and then surpassed that in FY2024 with 2.37 million tonnes. This puts us at 25% higher than our FY2020 volumes. Similarly, on the cost front, our 4QFY2024 cost stood at $1,711/T, which saw a 35% (~$950/T) decrease in just eight quarters, i.e. from 1QFY2023. This has helped us sustain our position as India’s largest aluminium producer. Our sustainability efforts also helped us emerge as the most sustainable aluminium producer in the world, as per the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 rankings.

India’s per capita consumption of aluminium stands at only ~3 kilograms per annum, as compared to 34 kilograms in China and 12 kilograms globally. This indicates that there is substantial scope for the aluminium sector to contribute to India’s needs. Specifically, we anticipate high growth potential in sectors such as automotive, building and construction, packaging, energy and infrastructure. In response, we are currently expanding our production capacity to 3.3 million tonnes, ringfencing our supply chain through captive bauxite and coal assets and increasing the share of our value-added products in our portfolio.

AL Circle: What are the key strategies and innovations Vedanta Aluminium focuses on to drive sustainability?

John Slaven: We have adopted a two-fold strategy of reducing and offsetting our carbon footprint to advance towards our target of achieving Net Zero by 2050. We are reducing our carbon footprint by increasing the quantum of renewables in our energy mix, achieving higher efficiencies in resource utilisation, and transitioning to low-carbon energy sources such as biofuels. In addition, we are also offsetting our carbon footprint through afforestation efforts near our assets.

Further, we will not be adding additional coal-fired capacity to our existing power portfolio to support growth in our metal production volume. All our additional power requirements will be met through renewable energy. With this aim, we have already entered into long-term agreements to source an initial 1335 MW of renewable energy to kickstart our decarbonisation efforts. Within our operations, we are also leveraging technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things to monitor emissions, curb material wastage and conserve energy usage.[4]

AL Circle: How is Vedanta Aluminium navigating the current economic uncertainties and fluctuating aluminium prices? What strategies are in place to mitigate these risks?

John Slaven: There are certain economic and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties which can pose challenges to the global aluminium industry, both in terms of availability to critical raw materials as well as market access. However, we have a robust strategy in place that makes our business resilient to such challenges. We are increasingly localising our supply of bauxite and coal through captive mines, which will help us reduce the cost of aluminium production, protect our volumes, and boost our cost competitiveness. Simultaneously, we are also increasing the share of value-added products in our portfolio, which will cater to specific applications in downstream industries and enable us to achieve higher premiums.

AL Circle: What are the key focus areas for Vedanta Aluminium's R&D efforts?

John Slaven: Our Research & Development team is committed to creating high-quality products that not only meet global standards but are also customised to address the unique emerging needs of diverse sectors. Our operations are equipped with in-house laboratories that not only monitor the quality of incoming raw materials, but also check the quality of outgoing products. This commitment has enabled us to develop products that are superior in quality.

We have partnered with both established academic institutions and emerging startups to accelerate our product innovation and bring new solutions to the market faster. In addition, we are also exploring ways to derive additional value from by-products such as fly ash and red mud which are generated at different stages of the aluminium manufacturing process.

AL Circle: What measures are Vedanta Aluminium currently implementing to manage its bauxite residue effectively?

John Slaven: At Vedanta Aluminium, we are exploring several methods to manage the generation and utilisation of byproducts created during the aluminium manufacturing process, such as fly ash and bauxite residue. In collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, we have developed a groundbreaking process to significantly reduce the generation of bauxite residue by a remarkable 30 per cent in our refining process. The process eliminates iron values while simultaneously recovering a higher alumina yield, reducing the total organic content from bauxite during the alumina refining. This significantly enhances resource efficiency and curbs energy consumption. We are also collaborating with the NITI Aayog, academia and industry peers in a cross-stakeholder project to derive added value from bauxite residue through the extraction of scandium, a rare earth metal. This effort can add to India’s resource security in terms of access to critical minerals.

AL Circle: As a CEO of a major aluminium company, what is the most challenging aspect of steering the company to its long-term goals?

John Slaven: In today’s rapidly evolving world, developing solutions and products that are both technologically advanced and sustainably produced is a significant challenge, and the aluminium industry is no stranger to this. At Vedanta Aluminium, we are pushing the boundaries to better serve our customers and develop world-class products. We are growth- focussed, with an emphasis on moving fast, being entrepreneurial and creative, and constantly scouting for opportunities to unlock added value. Our agile and committed team sees any challenge as an opportunity for growth, enabling us to emerge as the preferred aluminium supplier for industries worldwide.