In this exclusive interview,Rajesh Rajgor explores Hindalco’s pivotal role in advancing sustainable commercial transportation. He brings forward Hindalco’s commitment to environmental and social responsibility, the benefits of aluminum in low emission vehicles, collaborations with industry leaders, and the impact of aluminum trailers on emissions reduction. The discussion also covers the electrification potential of aluminum buses and the advantages of aluminum cargo containers in last-mile mobility.
Hindalco Industries Limited, the flagship metal company of the Aditya Birla group, stands as the global leader in aluminum rolling and the largest integrated aluminum player in India. It is a major global aluminum sheet supplier to the automobile industry, with its subsidiary, Novelis, boasting a marquee customer base that includes most global auto OEMs.
Today, Hindalco leads the charge in aluminum lightweighting initiatives in the Indian automobile industry, leveraging its downstream technological expertise in rolled products, extrusions, rolling assets, and unique alloy-making capabilities. “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors and sustainability are integral to Hindalco’s growth strategy, and aluminum, being infinitely recyclable, plays a pivotal role in the circular economy,” informs, Satish Pai, the Managing Director of Hindalco.
Despite the tremendous potential of aluminum, the per capita consumption of aluminum in India remains significantly lower than the global average. This can be attributed to a lack of awareness regarding the value that aluminum alloy can bring to various industries. Hindalco recognizes the need to develop indigenous, world-class technology and solutions to rectify this anomaly and is investing in aluminum downstream value-added manufacturing, particularly in state-of-the-art rolling mills and extrusion capabilities.
“Global trends, represented by the 4 Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recover, and Recycle, strongly support the increased usage of aluminum. Hindalco is actively contributing to these planet-positive initiatives by transitioning from being a mere material supplier to becoming a comprehensive solution provider across various businesses,” shares, Nilesh Koul, CEO of the downstream business, underlining the company’s commitment to these environmentally friendly initiatives.
Aluminum’s Key Role in India’s Low-Emission Vehicles
India is on the brink of historical growth, marked by urbanization, the rise of e-commerce, and increasing income levels. Consequently, the road freight sector is expected to quadruple by 2050. However, these rising fleets, if still reliant on fossil fuels, will exacerbate air pollution, emissions, health hazards, and energy costs. The only viable solution to these challenges lies in adopting low or zero-emission vehicles.
Aluminum, with its unique properties, offers several advantages for achieving this goal, including higher payload capacity due to its lower dead weight, longer lifespan owing to its non-corrosive nature and ease of maintenance, enhanced safety through superior crash absorption capability and durability, ease of fabrication due to excellent formability, and extended end-of-life value thanks to recyclability. All these aspects contribute to a lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and, consequently, better returns across the product’s life cycle.
Commercial vehicles, while crucial for transportation, are a significant source of pollution and pose challenges related to sulfur oxides (SOX) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions. Sagar Dhamorikar, Head of Commercial Vehicle Business for Hindalco Industries, anticipates that the company’s green initiative will revolutionize the landscape of Indian commercial vehicles in the coming years.
Internationally, vehicle manufacturers are increasingly turning to aluminum to create smarter, more environmentally friendly vehicles, particularly with the advent of electric vehicles (EVs). Aluminum alloy lightweighting in commercial vehicles offers tangible benefits by reducing dead weight and increasing payload capacity, improving logistics efficiency. In the case of EVs, especially for last-mile mobility, the primary advantage is the reduction in battery size or an increase in range.
Hindalco provides solutions across the commercial vehicle spectrum, encompassing semi or articulated trailers for goods and aggregate transportation, bulkers and trailer bulkers for the cement and fly ash industry, containers, and load bodies for various commercial vehicle categories, aluminum structural kits and panels for buses, and solutions for EV battery enclosures and related architecture.
Collaboration with Industry Players
To create a robust ecosystem, Hindalco collaborates with industry leaders and players such as ARAI and ICAT for design validation and testing, Fronius for welding solutions. Combined with Hindalco’s unique alloy development, hard alloy rolling, and extrusion capabilities, this ensures a robust solution that combines the high strength, low weight, and corrosion resistance of aluminum alloys. The company supports selected manufacturing partners to acquire the necessary fabrication expertise and go-to-market strategies in collaboration with institutional partners and end-users. Hindalco is also working on fabricating critical components and sub-assemblies to be supplied in a kit form to selected fabricator partners, further enhancing the customer value proposition.
In collaboration with ARAI, Hindalco has developed aluminum trailers up to 40 feet in length and bulkers in various sizes, primarily designed for transporting dry bulk cement and fly ash. These lightweight bulkers, made from a combination of marine-grade, high-strength 5XXX series and 6XXX extrusions, offer a payload benefit of up to 3.5 tonnes per trip, making them a highly attractive option.
Hindalco is also in discussions with various financing companies to develop innovative financing structures, including leasing, to reduce EMI burdens and allow transporters to benefit from the value proposition while sharing it with the end-users.
The value proposition of aluminum trailers is compelling, with the trailer body being approximately 40% lighter than traditional steel bodies, resulting in a payload benefit of up to 2.5 tonnes per trip. When coupled with air suspension and prime mover configuration, the payload can be further increased. The typical payback period for aluminum trailers is approximately two years. In addition, aluminum’s superior crash absorption properties make these trailers a safer choice compared to steel.
Customer feedback and experiences further support the adoption of aluminum trailers, as many companies recognize the environmental benefits and cost savings they offer. Each trailer is expected to save up to 45 tonnes of CO2 emissions over its lifespan, and aluminum’s recyclability reduces the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). These trailers have been deployed by various cement companies, with Nuvoco and JK Cement testifying to the environmental advantages. Nuvoco cement has integrated these trailers into its carbon reduction strategy to lower direct and indirect emissions. A fleet of these trailers has also been deployed at Hindalco’s Dahej copper plant, resulting in substantial logistical cost savings.
Jayakumar Krishnaswamy, Managing Director of Nuvoco Vistas Corp. Ltd, expressed the significance of this collaboration in reducing indirect emissions and supporting sustainability efforts. “A key component of Nuvoco’s sustainability roadmap is its approach to decarbonisation. As part of our carbon reduction strategy, we focus on several initiatives that will reduce direct emissions as well as indirect emissions. The collaboration between Nuvoco and Hindalco is a major step in reducing indirect emissions.”
Aluminum is increasingly being recognized for its sustainability benefits in India’s transportation industry. Prabhu Shankar, Director of Iyappa Aluminium Solutions, highlights the shift from using traditional materials like MS steel or SS in the transportation sector to aluminum. This transition allows for increased payload capacity, offering advantages in terms of revenue, fuel efficiency, and environmental sustainability. The use of aluminum also simplifies maintenance and reduces the need for frequent painting. Aluminum’s flexibility in manufacturing is another key advantage, as it enables efficient construction of various body types with ease.
Prabhu Shankar shared his insights: “Aluminum is a game-changer in the transportation industry. Its lightweight yet strong properties, combined with resistance to corrosion and low maintenance requirements, make it the ideal choice for increasing payload capacity, fuel efficiency, and overall service life. It also aligns with sustainability goals and offers manufacturing flexibility that steel can’t match. Aluminum’s impact on the transportation industry in India is surely transformative.”
Aluminum Solutions for All Modes of Transportation
Hindalco has been a leader in aluminum and copper production and is making significant strides in India’s commercial vehicle industry with its innovative aluminum freight trailer. Sagar further explained, “We have specialized in producing aluminum and copper, catering to aviation and railway sectors. Our aluminum trailer is designed for maximum payload, optimized to meet the 45-ton passing capacity specified by the Central Motor Vehicle Act.”
Aluminum Buses offer significant lifetime savings potential, particularly for inter and intra-city applications. They are an ideal choice for electric buses, addressing range anxiety and improving battery economics. Hindalco has developed aluminum profiles along with patented joineries for bus applications, and the salient features of aluminum buses include compliance with all CMVR requirements, up to 1000 kgs lighter than equivalent steel buses, corrosion resistance leading to lower maintenance costs, approximately 50 tons of lower CO2 emissions over the vehicle’s lifespan, superior driving comfort and road performance, reduced noise and vibration, and enhanced safety due to lower center of gravity.
In the context of last-mile and mid-mile mobility solutions, aluminum has proven to be an ideal choice for cargo containers. These containers enhance driving range, safety, and longevity in corrosive environments, making them more sustainable alternatives due to their infinite recyclability. Hindalco’s aluminum containers are modular, aesthetically superior, and available in kit form. They are around 40% lighter than equivalent MS containers and eliminate the need for painting. These containers with low TCO find applications in last-mile mobility, particularly in e-commerce, and Hindalco is the exclusive supplier of cargo containers for Tata ACE’s EV version. Discussions are ongoing with multiple OEMs and new startups to provide similar solutions, further advancing the adoption of aluminum in sustainable last-mile mobility solutions.
Embracing Electrification with Hindalco’s Aluminum
Hindalco’s aluminum trailers are an ideal platform for the electrification of commercial vehicles, particularly in addressing battery cost and range limitations. Numerous OEMs developing electric or alternative fuel prime movers have shown interest in these trailers to offset the weight increase due to heavier batteries and storage tanks (for LNG/Hydrogen cells) by using these lightweight and robust articulated trailers. Sagar Dhamorikar expresses optimism about this transition and ongoing discussions with multiple OEMs regarding potential deployments.
The company collaborates with experts such as Fronius and Hendrickson, and employs cutting-edge techniques, reducing each trailer’s weight by 2.5 tons to maximize payload capacity. This lightweight, yet robust design can carry various materials, including cement, alumina, grains, steel coils, and more, contributing to fuel efficiency and environmental benefits.
Dhamorikar emphasized their commitment to supporting manufacturers, stating, “We own the design and guide manufacturers to build these trailers efficiently, aligning with the increasing demand for lightweight solutions in the market.”
Furthermore, Hindalco’s aluminum trailers are engineered with inputs from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), ensuring optimal performance. These trailers are not only eco-friendly but also economically advantageous, saving fuel, reducing emissions, and enabling additional cargo load on each trip, which is a win-win for the transport industry.
In line with their “Aluminisation” mission, Hindalco aims to create value for their partners while promoting greener, stronger, and smarter metal solutions. The aluminum freight trailer serves as a prime example of their commitment to innovation, sustainability, and efficiency in the commercial vehicle sector.