Vedanta Aluminium Business (Vedanta), India's largest producer of aluminium and value-added products, has signed an agreement with GEAR (Gemini Equipment and Rentals) India to deploy one of the largest fleets of lithium-ion battery-powered electric forklifts, making it the first company in the Indian aluminium industry to do so.
Vedanta will be using 23 e-forklifts at its aluminium smelter in Jharsuguda, Odisha, which is one of the world’s largest single-location aluminium smelters, over the next few months. According to the corporation, replacing diesel-fueled forklifts with EV counterparts will help reduce diesel usage by more than 250,000 litres per year, resulting in GHG (greenhouse gas) emission savings of almost 690 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
Vedanta Aluminium currently employs a huge fleet of forklifts for finished goods handling and material movement, among other things. The new e-forklifts will increase operational productivity by enabling longer working cycles through quick charging. The lithium-ion batteries used by the e-forklift, according to the partners, do not need to be changed frequently and have a significantly longer life than conventional lead-acid batteries, while being almost maintenance-free because they are entirely sealed.
“Vedanta Aluminium is dedicated to attaining Net Zero Carbon emissions by 2050,” said Rahul Sharma, CEO – Aluminium Business, Vedanta. "Our collaboration with GEAR to deploy one of India’s largest and most advanced electric forklift fleets is consistent with our commitment to leveraging the power of innovation and technology to make our operations future-ready. This effort, in addition to decreasing carbon footprint, employs cloud computing to give real-time analytics to improve productivity and further strengthen our people’s safety", he added.
The forklifts use cutting-edge ‘Smart Fleet Management’ technology, which integrates data collected by intelligent terminals and provides Vedanta Aluminium with real-time insights on forklift speed, access to operate, collision avoidance, optimisation analysis for operational efficiency, and equipment maintenance, among other things.
Furthermore, these e-forklifts are outfitted with forwarding and backward cameras to ensure complete visibility to the operators, red-zone light and blue spotlights to create a safe working zone surrounding the forklift, and an automatic deceleration mechanism while turning for further safety.
“Vedanta Aluminium’s endeavour to replace fossil-fuelled heavy trucks with technologically superior lithium-ion forklifts on such a massive scale is a commendable effort,” said Varun Chopra, Executive Chairman of GEAR India. He further stated that it is an honour to be Vedanta’s partner in this ground-breaking effort, which will go a long way toward decarbonizing their industrial vehicle fleet. He added, "This will serve as motivation for the Indian manufacturing industry to investigate emerging technology options in order to achieve their Net Zero ambition.”
