India’s renewable energy transition is gathering pace, with installed renewable power capacity surpassing 300 gigawatts (GW) in 2026, almost quadrupling over the past decade. The country has also achieved its target of sourcing 50 per cent of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources five years ahead of schedule, strengthening its position as one of the world’s fastest-growing clean energy markets. The expansion is beginning to deliver measurable energy security benefits by reducing dependence on imported fossil fuels, while competitive renewable power costs and expanding domestic manufacturing are opening new investment opportunities. However, sustaining this momentum will require substantial improvements in electricity transmission, storage infrastructure and...
Glencore has defended its progress on the Aurukun bauxite project in Queensland, saying it has met all commitments under its licence conditions, as calls for greater scrutiny mount over its proposed sale to Rio Tinto. Queensland MP Robbie Katter, a member of the Parliamentary Primary Industries and Resources Committee, is seeking an inquiry into the deal. The reported sale value has been put at USD 250 million, though this figure has not been confirmed. Katter questioned why a multinational company should hold a public resource without developing it and then sell its interests. He said, “That resource is owned by the people of Queensland, it’s not the government’s to play around with, or for any of these global mining companies to just trade.” Explore the production, demand and...
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Google, the world’s leader in the search engine, plans to transform the search on its platform. The new avatar of the search engine will be more “visual, snackable, personal and human”. As mentioned in a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, the technology /giant will transform how the search engine presents the data to the audience with more AI-based conversations, trim video clips and social media posts, etc. This is expected to give a better experience to the person searching for information and will make the search activities more interactive, relevant and exciting. To search, users may have multiple steps to take, but this mechanism will reduce that. This move is very relevant when ChatGPT is already transforming how people search for information. Many of those conversational...
ARCC, a technology and manufacturing brand in its seventh year, is continually advancing its future thinking regarding reimagining how a bus with zero emissions should be built. Aluminium Revolutionary Chassis Company (ARCC) has sometimes produced zero-emissions buses and coaches like other companies in the industry. ARCC personnel were heavily involved in designing and deploying its first aluminium body on a Toro electric bus for Sydney Airport and further units for Brisbane Airport in 2015. The lessons learned from these initiatives formed the basis for the concepts that ARCC's engineers and management team recognised as having the potential to alter the future of zero-emissions bus and coach manufacture in Australia. Peter Murley, the Founder and Managing Director of ARCC, said, "We...
London sets an innovative sustainability model by installing The Tree Goddess made of collected aluminium cans at A2Dominion’s Beethoven Centre, Westminster. Veolia has commissioned the sculpture created by artist Faith Bebbington. It has been constituted with the help of one thousand aluminium cans retrieved from public events in the West End. The Tree Goddess was displayed last year at the Brighter Future art festival organised in Westminster, and since then, it has been travelling around London. Veolia, a waste management firm encouraging environmental consciousness, was behind the conception of this statue. The firm worked with Art of London to give the Tree Goddess an exceptional design that evokes a better future with raised sustainability standards. The structure is three metres...
Sagar Asia Private Limited, the Hyderabad-based family-owned aluminium engineering firm, has gained a strong reputation in India in the past few years as a household brand product. The company now offers four business lines, all related to climbing and access. Sagar Asia has worked tirelessly to support the government's Make in India and Atma Nirbhar Bharat programmes. To commemorate the same and on completing 40 years of business, the aluminium extrusion company is planning to establish a one-of-a-kind aluminium park in Telangana to mark its 40 years of expertise. The park spans 100 acres and will house approximately 100 Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) producing downstream and other aluminium goods. The items would be offered both in India and outside. The company...
Metallurgists and chemists are working on a less fantastical but comparable problem: recycling materials to the same grade 'A' quality they began life in. For instance, recycling steel may seem simple. Still, it isn't, and according to the German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles Audi, just a tiny portion of the materials removed from used automobiles, including steel, are used in new cars. Therefore, recycled steel from discarded automobiles is more likely to be used in the building and construction industry rather than being reused for body skins, chassis, suspension, or other components. The MaterialLoop project , in which Audi is a partner, explores this downgrading of materials when they are recycled, whether they be metals or plastics. It is known as "downcycling." The...
The European Commission (EC) has reportedly approved unconditional merger clearance for Hydro's acquisition of the Polish aluminium recycler Alumetal S.A. In April 2022, Hydro first announced a tender offer to acquire Alumetal with an all-cash transaction worth $240.4 million. But it expired during the phase 2 merger review by the European Commission. Later on, at the end of April 2023, Hydro resumed the offer process to acquire 100 per cent of the shares in Alumetal. The subscription period is expected to remain open till 2023, and the acquisition is likely to close in early July if all other conditions get fulfilled. The European Commission's merger clearance approval is one key milestone of the many to complete the acquisition of Alumetal. This deal will strengthen Hydro’s recycling...
Sustainable and circular packaging is in high demand, thus, innovations that allow users to reuse old containers are getting more attention. Besides protecting its content extremely well, refill packaging must be user-friendly, simple to recycle and environmentally friendly. With this aim, Tubex introduced the MonoRefill, a 100 per cent recycled and recyclable refill tube comprised of 100 per cent recycled aluminium (95% of which is PCR), is lightweight, and is readily recyclable. La bouche rouge was the first to use the MonoRefill, which is used for refills in its new perfume line. “We designed the MonoRefill to provide brands with a sustainable solution for refilling complex original packaging, or as an alternative to existing refills made of plastics or other materials that are hard to...
The downstream aluminium sector has been subjected to various new updates to introduce more sustainability into the material loop. The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has attested to using Constellium’s Aheadd® CP1 aluminium alloy in manufacturing F1 racing cars to be launched in the 2024 season. PWR, an ASX-listed automotive cooling solutions provider, has collaborated with Constellium to use the latter’s expertise to develop various other strains of Aheadd® aluminium alloy strains applicable in additive manufacturing. Press Metal has planned the expansion of its Klang plant at Selangor to meet the rising demand for solar panels internationally. SDE Technology recently welcomed Robert Joyce as its inaugural non-executive advisor. With a wealth of experience as a supply...
The Rein Automotive Water Pump Assembly Kit (CRP P/N WPU0505) by CRP automotive is all-aluminium water pump housing, replacing OE's plastic version. CRP Automotive, a leading supplier of OE-quality replacement and repair parts, has created a first-to-market water pump assembly kit for some of the most popular BMW applications from 2007 to 2010. "One of the most common complaints of OE water pump assembly for these BMW 6-cylinder, 3.0L engines is that the plastic housings had a tendency to crack at around 50-60,000 miles, due to high vibration and heat," said Christian Eichstaedt, CRP Automotive's Director of Product Innovation. The Rein Water Pump Assembly Kit contains all the necessary hoses, clamps, bolts, and hardware to execute a successful service. The package also contains aluminium...
Google has announced the launch of its first foldable smartphone after intense speculation. The teaser of Google Pixel Fold has been officially released via the Google Store. The phone displays a hardy glass panel with an integrated aluminium frame. The teaser suggests that Google Pixel Fold is set to launch on May 10. Though the team hasn’t disclosed any specifications yet, the first look defines the device’s design and foldable qualities. Just like Apple , Motorola and other brands drawn toward sustainability, Google has been promoting the use of aluminium in many of its recent flagship models. This is a major leap for the non-ferrous metal since it was already being widely used in the automobile and other technological sectors . This continuous incorporation of aluminium in their...
The Medstraum vessel, powered by batteries, was created as part of the TrAM (Transport: Advanced and Modular) project. It has zero emissions and is used for commuting in the Stavanger region, Norway. Its development is paving the way for fast ferries that are environmentally friendly. The vessel has been constructed with aluminium sourced from Hydro. As Edith explains, ‘In this project, technological innovation has been high on the agenda. With a brand-new propulsion system, low-weight aluminium modules and hull forms derived from research on hundreds of examples, Medstraum has been tailored to optimise energy efficiency.’ However, fast ferries and car ferries create a lot of CO2 emissions compared to the number of passenger kilometres travelled. They account for 56% of all public...
On Thursday, May 4, domestic aluminium scrap prices in India remained range-bound d-o-d. Aluminium tense scrap prices stood at INR 163,000 per tonne - INR 164,000 per tonne, whereas, for utensils, the price closed at INR 172,000 per tonne. However, owing to moderate demand, the price of aluminium scrap in India remained steady. Aluminium futures and spot prices on the LME rose on Wednesday from $2,321 per tonne to $2,305 per tonne. Futures and prices, however, remained range-bound between $2,310 and $2,350 per tonne w-o-w. Scrap bids for 2-3% Fe attachment from US origin were reported to be approximately $1,770 per tonne-1,790 per tonne. According to credible sources, Zorba 95-5 grade bids were around $1,940 per tonne -$1,960 per tonne, while taint tabor with 2 per cent Fe attachment...
According to persons familiar with the issue, the government of India will likely begin informal negotiations with Vedanta about Balco's future stock market listing before making a solid recommendation to the aluminium company's board. The government of India still holds a 49 per cent stake in Balco after divesting a 51 per cent stake in 2001 to Sterlite Industries, a subsidiary of Vedanta. According to the people quoted, the government of India wants Vedanta to list Balco so that it can sell a portion of its stake through an IPO before quitting the business later. However, it was reported in March 2023 that the mining ministry sought further advice from Dipam on the roadmap for the disinvestment of Balco, which has been in the works for some years. Upon finalizing this, the process of...
The sustainability quotient of aluminium has finally made a global impression as we see central industrial departments making a dive toward sourcing non-ferrous metal for their operations. The automobile industry is spearheading the movement, and it can be legitimised due to the constant need for aluminium in making lighter parts for Electric Vehicles (EV). Organisations like Alumobility have made it a point to encourage using aluminium for Last Minute Delivery Vehicles (LMDV) as it helps in curtailing carbon footprint along the way since it is lightweight and 100% recyclable. Under notifications by Lenovo, Motorola has created the ThinkPhone, water resitant and stronger than ever, with an aluminium outer case. On a very different note, Coach was seen promoting sustainability with...
China’s social inventories of primary aluminium across eight major consumption areas, including SHFE warrant, recorded a fall of 18,000 tonnes week-on-week to stand at 835,000 tonnes as of Thursday, May 4, found the Shanghai Metals Market data. On a year-on-year calculation, aluminium ingot inventories on May 4 registered a downfall of 197,000 tonnes. According to market players and warehouse operators, the main reason for the destocking was lower arrivals. Pre-holiday stocking was below expectations in many regions of China. Wuxi led the overall decline, also contributed by Hangzhou, Gongyi, and Linyi. To know the current status of China’s primary aluminium inventories in more detail, refer to the chart below: In Wuxi, primary aluminium inventories plunged by 24,000 tonnes this week to...
Reynaers Aluminium Ltd. devised a clever concept to reduce carbon emissions across its supply chain. Various science-based approaches will be adopted as part of the Reynaers Act to accomplish the company's net zero aims. Nexans, a Paris multinational cable and optical fibre firm, is releasing the French market's first low-carbon distribution grid cables. This agreement is based on a guarantee that the cables would be manufactured using low-carbon aluminium, recycled plastic, and renewable or decarbonized energy sources. According to a recent study commissioned by European Aluminium, the voice of the European aluminium industry, and completed by Ducker Carlisle, the average amount of aluminium used in European cars increased by 18% from 174 kg in 2019 to 205 kg in 2022. Alfa Romeo, the...
Norsk Hydro reported first-quarter results for 2023, which ended March 31, indicating a 4.11 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue from NOK 46,616 million to NOK 48,534 million, driven by a steady LME aluminium pricing that began the quarter at US$2,378 per tonne and concluded at US$2,413 per tonne. Egypt Aluminium Company (Egyptalum) declared a net profit (after tax) of EGP 3.916 billion from July 2022-March 2023 on Wednesday, May 3. Surprisingly, the company's net profit exceeded its yearly goal of 3.02 billion in only nine months, representing a year-on-year increase of 131.94% from EGP 1.688 billion. Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba), the world's biggest aluminium smelter outside of China, reportedly earned US$126.2 million (BD47.5 million) in the first quarter of 2023, which ended...
On May 4, 2023, Arconic Corporation announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by funds managed by Apollo Global Management, Inc. affiliates in an all-cash transaction that values the Company at an enterprise value of approximately US$5.2 billion. The acquisition involves a minority investment from funds managed by Irenic Capital Management affiliates. The deal states that Arconic stockholders will receive $30.00 in cash per share, reflecting a 36 per cent premium to the Company's undisturbed closing stock price on February 27, 2023. However, after the transaction is completed, Arconic's shares will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange, and the company will become private. Fritz Henderson, the Arconic Board of Directors Chairman, said, "This...
