Vedanta Aluminium, a leading producer of aluminium, has announced that it now hosts India’s largest fleet of electric lithium-ion forklifts, with a total of 44 units now deployed across its operations in Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
It has also recently commissioned India’s first 10-tonne electric lithium-ion forklift at its mega aluminium smelter in Jharsuguda, Odisha. In addition, it has also inducted 3-tonne and 5-tonne electric forklifts for the first time ever at its alumina refinery in Lanjigarh, Odisha and also at its subsidiary Balco, India’s iconic aluminium producer based at Korba, Chhattisgarh.
Undertaken in collaboration with GEAR (Gemini Equipment and Rentals) India and Taron Lift & Move, the company aims to significantly work towards decarbonising its industrial vehicle fleet.
The introduction of electric lithium-ion forklifts helps mitigate the company’s carbon footprint significantly, through:
- A potential reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 1,600 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually.
- The 10-tonne forklift alone decreases emissions up to 85 tonnes of CO2 per year/vehicle per annum.
- Substantial reduction in diesel consumption, with estimated savings of over 5.1 lakhs litre per year.
Vedanta Aluminium says it is committed to decarbonising 100% of its Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) fleet by 2030 and 75 percent of its mining fleet by 2035. In FY 2023, Vedanta Aluminium inducted 27 forklifts at its plant in Jharsuguda, among the largest aluminium smelters in the world. This emerged as the largest EV forklift fleet in the country at the time, and the company has further expanded the fleet size across all its plants to 44 units this year, which it says is greatly encouraged by the significant decarbonisation benefits accrued as a result of the first fleet.
To ensure enhanced safety and efficiency in operations, these forklifts are enabled with an IoT-based ‘Smart Fleet Management’ system. This allows for the real-time monitoring of forklift performance, enabling predictive maintenance and ensuring the highest safety standards on-site. Further, they are equipped with forward and reverse cameras ensuring complete visibility to the operators, red-zone light and blue spotlights that create a safe operating zone around the forklift, as well as an automatic deceleration mechanism while turning, for enhanced safety. To further its efforts towards increasing gender diversity in core manufacturing operations, the company is also training women and transgender professionals as experts in operating these top-of-the-line forklifts.
Sunil Gupta, COO, Vedanta – Aluminium Business, said “We are dedicated to the mission of promoting ESG excellence, which forms the foundation of all our business endeavours. Our partnerships with leading technological providers have enabled us to pioneer sustainable material handling practices in the industry. The commissioning of India’s first 10-tonne electric lithium-ion forklift comes as a reaffirmation of our commitment to accelerating the transition to a Net Zero future.”
Varun Chopra, Executive Chairman, GEAR India said, “The commissioning of India’s first 10-tonne electric lithium-ion forklift, part of the 41 units of zero-emission lithium-ion forklifts that we have deployed at Vedanta Jharsuguda and Balco is a remarkable achievement. It highlights our shared commitment to advancing clean and efficient electric mobility and material handling solutions.”
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.29 million tonnes in FY2023.
