As of August 28, 2025, National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), a leading manufacturer of alumina and aluminium in India, has announced its plan to increase the production level of special-grade, value-added and fused alumina. Alumina is currently in high demand, especially for refractories and other areas.
Currently, the alumina consumption is deemed to be nearly 4.5 to 5 million tonnes and NALCO expects the growth for alumina consumption in India to reach 8 million tonnes by 2030. For FY26, the firm has the capex plan to reach INR 1,700 crores (USD 204 million).
With no plans for disinvestment in the present scenario, the company's CMD, BP Singh, has enunciated their strategy to expand its alumina refinery by 1 million tonne, which will be commissioned by June 2026. Furthermore, the company has also shown interest in adding another smelter of 5 lakh tonnes alongside a power plant with 1GW capacity by 2030.
Recently, in the same month, NALCO began the brownfield expansions in the alumina and aluminium production, marking it as a strategic move to secure the Maharatna status. In this particular expansion project, the firm has mapped out the total investment of INR 17,163 crore (USD 2.06 billion) to enhance smelter capacity by 0.5 million tonnes per annum and an additional INR 12,000 crore (USD 1.44 billion) to set up 1,080 MW of power generation capacity, with land acquisition for the smelter project nearing the final stage of completion.
Besides the expansion planning undertaken by the firm, NALCO is also ramping up the manufacturing of more rolled products to address the rising need for aluminium foils. Apart from this, in the chemical segment, the firm is also planning to elevate the special grade alumina and fused alumina plant. This does not end here, NALCO is also pushing the wire rod mill up to 60,000 tonnes because of the rapid use in the country's electrification.
Earlier this year, the company launched its IA90-grade aluminium alloy ingot, which is critical for EV components like engine blocks, structural parts, wheels and cylinder heads, which is beneficial for wear, corrosion resistance and high strength. This innovation by the company upholds its broader investment and growth trajectory, aiming for INR 30,000 crore brownfield expansion over the next 5 years, including a 0.5 MTPA smelter, a 1,080 MW captive power plant and upstream enhancements.
Moreover, the company has positioned itself as the first Indian company to produce gallium, which shall aid in commercial production in the next two years. The recovery of gallium will be done as a byproduct extracted from the alumina refining process. Plans aim towards building a 10-tonne-per-year gallium extraction facility adjacent to its Damanjodi alumina refinery, with a pilot prototype operational in 8–9 months, followed by a year of testing before full-scale rollout.
With the country's economy forecasted to grow by 6.5 per cent, the demand for aluminium shall also surge by 10 per cent. Irrespective of the country being the lowest-cost producer of alumina, a raw material which has been secured to utilise by the next 20 years, according to Mr Singh, the CMD of NALCO has urged a total investment of INR 30,000 crore (USD 3.45 billion). This investment would be raised for pushing the smelters and power plants, and raising the money will be done from the reserves, and the hope is to raise the rest from debt at good rates by virtue of being a zero-debt company.
Captive coal mines make up nearly 35 to 40 per cent of the firm's total coal production due to the power. He further pointed out that almost 45 per cent of the aluminium consumption growth will be witnessed in the power sector, and nearly 15 to 16 per cent apiece in the construction and transport sectors.
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