A leading Indian producer of energy transition metal, Vedanta Group, on National Technology Day, i.e., May 10, 2025, promised to power India's technology and engineering sector. The firm aims to increase production of the transition metals alongside the value-added products. With this focus, the company is undertaking the expansion of its aluminium and zinc products, which shall further include a 30,000 tonnes per annum (kilo-tonnes per annum) plant of zinc alloys.
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The plan ahead
Concerning the aluminium sector, Vedanta is looking forward to strategically increasing the share of its value-added products by over 90 per cent as their short-term plan.
For this, the firm's board has permitted a total investment of USD 105 billion to support capacity expansion of both value-added aluminium products and primary aluminium at its flagship aluminium plants.
Across the globe, there are more than 3,000 technological applications within different industries. If compared with India, the technological application of aluminium is deemed to be 300.
Among those 300 applications, the firm alone produces 60 per cent of the country's aluminium. In order to increase the aluminium use, the company is focusing on expanding its value-added aluminium production capacity.
The major area of focus for increasing the aluminium production capacity would be rolled products, wire rods, billets and primary defence. The greater use of these increased aluminium production shall aid India in different industries, including pharmaceuticals, new-age battery enclosures, high-speed railways and electric vehicles.
Other critical minerals to be explored
At present, the firm is expanding its critical mineral exploration programme across different states of India. These Indian states are Maharashtra, Bihar, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Within these locations, the major focus of the firm would be on critical miners like copper, cobalt, vanadium, platinum, tungsten, chromium and nickel. For conducting this critical mineral exploration programme, the firm will be aligned with other government activities listed on mineral security.
Some of the other materials that the firm shall also focus on include silver, which shall be used in the electronics and renewable energy sectors.
A little focus on zinc
Vedanta's subsidiary, Hindustan Zinc, known as the world's largest integrated zinc producer, is planning to expand its operations beyond steel galvanisation, accounting for a total demand of 60 per cent.
Within the firm, the diversification would be seen in its die-casting alloys, which are HZDA-3 and HZDA-5 and shall be used in the defence, automotive and appliances sectors.
Currently, the firm is set to launch newest product lines known to be as EcoZen, a low-carbon zinc alongside Restora, a low-carbon aluminium to support overall industries decarbonisation initiatives.
With these two new product lines, the firm shall expand its production within various portfolios, helping to meet growing demand for effective metal usage in the modern emerging technologies.
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