Vedanta employees ‘green engineer’ old petrol bike into e-bike at Jharsuguda
21st June 2021
Bhubaneswar, Odisha; 21st June, 2021: Employees of Vedanta, India’s largest producer of aluminium and value-added products, has leveraged inhouse engineering and innovation capabilities to convert an old petrol-fuelled motorbike that was beyond economic repair, into an electric bike (e-bike) at its Jharsuguda (Odisha) plant. A symbol of the company’s commitment to reducing carbon footprint and the engineering prowess of its employees, the e-bike is powered by a Lithium-ion battery and is completely pollution free.
Vedanta’s Vehicle Maintenance team substituted the engine and gearbox with a brushless DC 750-watt motor equipped with a freewheel and chain sprocket. The motor, which is powered by a 48V – 29Ah Lithium-ion battery, drives the rear wheel chain sprocket through a roller chain. This innovative salvage of the defunct petrol bike is in line with Vedanta’s focus to reduce carbon footprint by promoting the 3Rs – reduce, reuse, and recycle – of waste management. The new eco-friendly e-bike carries with it the benefits of low maintenance, no fossil fuel consumption and zero pollution.
Speaking on the company’s waste-to-wealth initiatives, Mr. CN Singh, CEO – Vedanta Ltd., Jharsuguda, said, “At Vedanta, we have adopted best-in-class green manufacturing practices in collaboration with global technology experts with the vision to make our operations Zero Harm, Zero Waste and Zero Discharge. Alongside cutting-edge technology deployments, we have vibrant Innovation Cafes and Waste-to-Wealth Projects, which see employees collaborate, brainstorm and tinker with technology to indigenously develop sustainable solutions and processes. As a business, we combine our purpose-driven worldview with our employees and business partners by encouraging them to bring in green innovations and solutions for judicious utilization of resources. True to their engineering and creative abilities, our employees have converted an old petrol bike that would have otherwise been discarded into a value alternative.”
Mr. Pragyan Raj Das, Site In-Charge of Unilift Cargo Systems Pvt Ltd., Vedanta’s partner in logistics, said, “I appreciate Vedanta for sincerely pursuing and promoting green initiatives through a holistic approach at its operations, which includes a wide range of technology adoptions, projects, innovations and process upgrades. This is in line with the company’s commitment to work towards a better and sustainable future for all.”
Waste-to-Wealth is a key focus area of Vedanta’s waste management principles. The company has partnered with Runaya LLC for recovery of residual aluminium from dross and using the remnant dross to make briquettes for usage in steel industry, resulting in 100% utilization of dross. The company is also ensuring more than 100% fly-ash utilization for various purposes, including cement manufacturing, backfilling of depleted mines, etc.
Beyond operations, Vedanta Aluminium is fostering local micro-enterprises for fly-ash brick making. The company supports over a hundred brick manufacturing MSMEs situated around and beyond its areas of operations with fly ash free of cost to their doorsteps, amounting to nearly 5 lakh metric tonnes per annum. In addition, the company also provides know-how and training on manufacturing these bricks in partnership with technical institutes, thus creating employment avenues as well as promoting circular economy. The beneficiaries from this project are underprivileged villagers who would otherwise depend on cattle rearing, subsistence agriculture or would migrate to other states to work as construction labourers for their livelihood.
Vedanta is India’s largest producer of the green metal, aluminium, operating a world-class 1.6 MTPA aluminium smelter and 3615 MW thermal power generation facility in Jharsuguda, Odisha. The only Indian smelter in the global ‘1 Million Tonne’ production and export club, Vedanta Jharsuguda is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications across core industries. With one of the largest technically qualified and diverse workforces in the country, the company is working towards a sustainable and greener future for all by spurring emerging applications of aluminium, the ‘Metal of the Future’.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com
About Vedanta Aluminium Business:
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.29 million tonnes in FY23. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
For more information, please log on to www.vedantaaluminium.com
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This press release contains “forward-looking statements” – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “should” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
