NEW DELHI: State-run National Aluminium Co. Ltd (Nalco) plans to begin producing green alumina by 2030, ramping up renewable energy capacity to align with India’s energy transition and rising global carbon curbs. But the company has not set any production targets and clarified it does not expect to fully transition its output to renewable power by then.
Nalco will likely invest up to ₹1,575 crore in renewable projects to support its green alumina initiative. This includes a new 15 megawatts (MW) wind plant, and another 200–300 MW of renewable capacity. Chairman and managing director Brijendra Pratap Singh told Mint that the estimated capex is ₹5 crore per MW.
In addition, the company will sign power purchase agreements with developers of solar and wind projects to bridge the gap.
“What we are planning is…whatever alumina we are producing, the power requirement for that alumina is very less. We have our own wind power plants in Andhra and we will have capacity in Tamil Nadu. So, we will be trying to divert all this to our refineries. So that whatever (alumina) production from our refineries we do that becomes totally green,” Singh said.
Currently, Nalco operates 200 MW of captive wind power. The company does not expect complete decarbonization by 2030.
“For our green plant we are thinking of going in for more green power… But maybe we will be going for 200–300 MW of more wind or green or maybe hybrid model plants… If needed that may go up,” he said.
Guidelines from the government require that at least 35-40% of the company’s overall energy mix comprise renewable sources, Singh noted.
To meet that target, Nalco has hired a consultancy to advise on the adoption of solar, wind or hybrid power with battery storage.
India produced 7.52 million tonnes of alumina in FY24, of which Nalco contributed 2.04 million tonnes, according to its annual report. Alumina is the raw material used for aluminium production, which is used in automobiles, aircraft, trains, electronics and other industries.
Nalco’s move comes as global producers race to decarbonize. Earlier this year, Rio Tinto and India’s AMG Metals & Minerals said they would jointly assess the feasibility of a low-carbon aluminium project powered by renewable energy in India.
The push for greener production has intensified with the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which will impose tariffs on carbon-intensive imports, and similar measures under consideration in Southeast Asia.
The pragmatic move
Yet even as it expands renewable capacity, Nalco is doubling down on coal to secure stable, low-cost power for its aluminium business.
On Thursday, Singh told reporters that the company will invest about ₹30,000 crore in a new smelter and a coal-fired power plant over the next five years. Around ₹18,000 crore will go toward the smelter in Odisha, with the balance for the power plant, to be developed through a joint venture with Coal India and NTPC Ltd.
Alongside its domestic expansion, Nalco continues to focus on its export markets. The company exports roughly 1.1 million tonnes of alumina annually, mostly to West Asia.
That export profile, Singh said, has shielded the company from the impact of new US tariffs on Indian alumina. “We are exporting around 11 lakh tonnes of alumina and most of it is going into the Middle East (West Asia). That’s why the US tariff is not going to impact the alumina export. We are not exporting to the US and even other countries we are not exporting (other than West Asia), because domestically we are getting better prices.”
“In the international market, whatever prices we are getting through tenders is lesser than the prices we are getting in the domestic market. So Nalco is not getting impacted but of course tariffs is going to create pressure on the prices because the availability of the metal in the Indian market is increased because of some exports which were going from other producers, that is going to increase in India and some other countries,” he said.
