Team News Riveting
Balconagar, Korba, November 23
Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), India’s iconic aluminium producer, has dispatched the first rake of fly-ash to a prominent cement manufacturer to collaborate for producing low-carbon cement.
This is a significant stride in BALCO’s aim of ensuring 100 per cent fly-ash utilization in a gainful manner through avenues that foster circular economy.
Abhijit Pati, CEO and Director, BALCO, said, “We believe in leveraging next generation technologies to minimize, recycle and reuse byproducts and industrial wastes from our manufacturing process in innovative ways that are beneficial for the people and environment. We have implemented novel solutions for environment management and to reduce our carbon footprint. We look forward to greater partnership between BALCO and the cement industry for utilizing fly-ash to make greener and more sustainable products.”
BALCO has been supplying fly-ash to many cement manufacturers in the vicinity. Fly-ash dispatch via rail is in line with the company’s vision of achieving economies of scale to further its environment sustainability targets. BALCO has also partnered with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) under their Bharatmala Project for building roads with fly-ash, and signed an MoU with VNIT Nagpur for using their green concrete solution for road construction inside the plant, as well as nearby areas. Fly-ash being a voluminous byproduct of thermal power generation, such an innovation will not only aid in sustainable construction but also ensure environmental sustainability in the long run.
Standing testimony to its endeavors, BALCO has been the recipient of various awards and accolades for its sustainability initiatives and environmental conservation efforts this year, such as the ‘CII Energy Efficiency Award’, ‘Golden Peacock Sustainability Award’ and ‘CII HSE Excellence Award, Chhattisgarh’. The company has additionally bagged ‘International Green Apple Award’, ‘CII Energy Excellence Award’, ‘Sustainable Business of the year Award’, ‘National Award for Excellence in Energy Management’ and ‘Energy & Environment Global Environment Award’ and many other accolades in recent years.
BALCO is owned 49 per cent by the Government of India and 51 per cent by Vedanta Limited. The company is part of Vedanta’s Aluminium Business, a division of Vedanta Limited, which is India’s largest manufacturer of aluminium. BALCO operates a 0.57 million tonne per annum aluminium smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh. It is also a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. With its world-class smelter and power plants, the company fulfills its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
