Vedanta Aluminium’s USD 10 Billion Capex Roadmap: Building Aluminium Powerhouse for the World

Vedanta Aluminium is supporting the nation’s expanding aluminium production ecosystem, whilst reducing external alumina dependence and meeting global demands- making India a global manufacturing hub. In an interaction with Wire & Cable India, Mr. Rajiv Kumar, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium, outlines USD 10 billion capex roadmap towards strengthening the aluminium value chain- creating India’s largest single location 5 million TPA alumina refinery at Lanjigarh; land acquisition in Dhenkanal, Odisha for expansion; transitioning into 1 million TPA capacity at BALCO, Chhattisgarh; accelerating investments in value-added products, logistics, and export-oriented infrastructure- enabling better market access, improved supply chain efficiency, and stronger competitiveness for growing downstream portfolio.

Wire & Cable India: Vedanta Limited has outlined a USD 10 billion capex roadmap. Can you share how this capex will be allocated across growth corridors such as downstream capacity expansion, value-added products, and export infrastructure for the aluminium business?

Rajiv Kumar: We are directing our capex within Vedanta Limited’s broader investment roadmap towards strengthening the aluminium value chain, with a clear focus on capacity expansion and downstream integration.

At Lanjigarh, our alumina refinery has already enhanced its infrastructure to support a 5 million TPA footprint. We have also secured land in Dhenkanal, Odisha, for a major new expansion project to further reinforce our raw material security. At BALCO in Korba, Chhattisgarh, we are on the cusp of transitioning into a 1 million TPA aluminium producer.

Simultaneously, we are accelerating investments in value-added products, with a clear ambition to move toward a 90% VAP share. This aligns with the needs of high growth sectors such as electric mobility, renewable energy, power transmission, infrastructure, and aerospace. We have significantly enhanced our billet production capabilities as part of this shift.

Selective investments in logistics and export-oriented infrastructure are also underway, enabling better market access, improved supply chain efficiency, and stronger competitiveness for our growing downstream portfolio. These initiatives collectively position Vedanta Aluminium to meet rising global demand while supporting India’s vision of becoming a global manufacturing hub.

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WCI: The Lanjigarh refinery has been central to Vedanta Aluminium’s journey. How does this asset fit into the broader growth plan in terms of improving raw material security and enhancing cost competitiveness?

RK: The Lanjigarh refinery is a critical pillar of our aluminium value chain and central to our long-term growth plans. Over the years, we have expanded its capacity from 2 million TPA to 5 million TPA, creating India’s largest single location alumina refinery and significantly strengthening alumina security for our Jharsuguda and BALCO smelters. This scaleup sharply reduces dependence on external alumina and supports the nation’s expanding aluminium production ecosystem.

In parallel, we are advancing domestic bauxite sourcing and operationalising captive coal assets to further optimise raw material and power costs. These efforts are designed to bolster cost competitiveness, enhance operational resilience, and safeguard our value chain from global supply disruptions.

Lanjigarh is therefore much more than an operational facility, it is the backbone of our journey toward 100% vertical integration, world class cost efficiency, and long term resilience as we scale to become one of the world’s leading aluminium producers.

WCI: What are the key demand drivers you are seeing in the Indian aluminium market, particularly from the wire and cable segment? How is Vedanta Aluminium positioning itself to support these industry trends?

RK: India’s aluminium demand is accelerating sharply, driven by rapid expansion in power transmission networks, renewable energy integration, electrification, and the shift toward electric mobility. The wire and cable segment, in particular, is witnessing strong growth as India’s electricity demand, expected to maintain a 6% annual growth rate through 2026, requires highly efficient, high conductivity materials for long distance transmission and next generation grid infrastructure.

Aluminium, with its high strength-to-weight ratio and superior conductivity, is an essential material for this transformation. To address this, in 2024 Vedanta Aluminium introduced two advanced products tailored for the power sector — the AL59 ingot and the fine drawing application EC-grade wire rod. Both are engineered for high precision applications such as fine drawing, conforming, and enamelling, making them indispensable in transformer and motor winding. By supplying Al-59 ingots directly, we offer a cost-effective, energy-efficient, and operationally streamlined solution to our customers, positioning ourselves as a value-driven supplier in the aluminium alloy segment.

These launches reflect our commitment to meeting the sector’s evolving requirements with high-quality feedstock that drives both efficiency and sustainability. Our wire rods, with up to 99.8% purity, provide exceptional conductivity and durability, ensuring efficient long-distance power distribution. With superior metallographic properties and design flexibility, they deliver consistent performance that enhances reliability across the power value chain. As India builds future-ready infrastructure to support renewables, smart grids, and electric mobility, these products will serve as critical enablers of an affordable, uninterrupted, and sustainable power supply.

WCI: Sustainability is increasingly becoming a differentiator in metal supply chains. How is Vedanta Aluminium planning to advance its green aluminium initiatives, especially for customers in the electrical and infrastructure sectors?

RK: Sustainability is at the centre of Vedanta Aluminium’s business strategy, and we are embedding circularity, recycling, and energy efficiency across our operations to create a truly future ready aluminium value chain. Our efforts focus on reducing the carbon intensity of aluminium production while ensuring that our customers have access to reliable, low carbon materials.

Our low-carbon portfolio includes Restora, produced using renewable energy, and Restora Ultra, made with aluminium recovered from dross generated in the smelting process. These rank among the lowest-carbon aluminium products in the market today and align with the global trend of decarbonization and meet customer demands for sustainable products.

To advance our sustainability agenda, we have committed to achieving Net Zero by 2050 or earlier, guided by a two-pronged strategy, that is, decarbonising operations and carbon mitigation. We are rapidly increasing the share of renewables in our energy mix, improving process efficiencies, and transitioning to cleaner fuels across facilities. We are undertaking large-scale afforestation efforts around our operational locations to create long-term carbon sinks.
As part of our energy transition pathway, we aim to achieve 30% renewable energy in our power mix by 2030. We plan to procure around 1,500 MW of renewable power through long-term PPAs, supplementing the 1.57 billion units of renewable energy already consumed in FY25, the highest within India’s aluminium industry. This has substantially lowered our Scope 2 emissions. We are also accelerating clean fuel adoption through biomass cofiring, solar powered systems to replace diesel gensets, and transitioning our alumina refinery to natural gas.

On the efficiency front, innovations such as our patented ’Vedanta Lining Design’ for aluminium smelter pots reduce energy consumption by 200–250 kWh per tonne, contributing to significant CO₂ abatement. We are also integrating natural gas in our cast houses through our partnership with GAIL (India) Ltd. At Lanjigarh, the use of over 20 tonnes of biomass briquettes per day for steam generation will help eliminate more than 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually.

Through these initiatives, Vedanta Aluminium is building a robust, transparent, and low carbon supply chain, enabling our customers in the electrical and infrastructure sectors to meet their own energy efficiency and sustainability targets while moving India closer to a greener industrial future.

WCI: With evolving competition from both domestic players and rising imports, how does Vedanta Aluminium plan to strengthen its competitive edge in terms of product quality, cost effectiveness, and customer service?

RK: Vedanta Aluminium’s competitive edge rests on our ability to innovate at scale, customise with precision, and deliver exceptional customer experience backed by full value chain integration. As competition evolves, both from domestic players and rising imports, we are deepening our focus on high-quality, differentiated products supported by strong technology, R&D, and digital capabilities.

A key strength is our ability to engineer highly customised products. Our R&D and customer technical services teams work closely with customers to co-develop high-performance billets, tailor-made wire rods, and casting solutions customised to precise application requirements. This level of metallurgical customisation enhances performance across conductivity, drawability, strength, and surface finish, enabling customers to achieve greater efficiency in their own manufacturing.

Many of these advancements are enabled by proprietary design interventions and operational innovations, including patented process improvements, such as our advanced smelter potlining technology, that enhance energy efficiency and reinforce our cost competitiveness.

In parallel, we are transforming customer engagement through ’Vedanta Metal Bazaar’, the world’s largest online superstore for primary aluminium. The platform has fundamentally reshaped how aluminium is procured in India, offering more than 750 product variants and delivering transparency, speed, and convenience to a traditionally complex process. With AI driven price discovery, live shipment tracking, LME linked price booking, and seamless financial reconciliation, Metal Bazaar brings a B2C grade digital experience to B2B buyers.

Our fully integrated value chain continues to give us structural cost advantages that are difficult to replicate. Combined with world class technology partnerships and global operations across 60+ countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, we serve a diverse customer base in automotive, power, infrastructure, building and construction, and renewable energy. This positions Vedanta Aluminium as a reliable supplier offering consistent quality, competitive pricing, and strong technical support.

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WCI: As the CEO of Vedanta Aluminium, at this point in time, what are you most excited to work on? Could you also share some key challenges and learnings that have shaped your journey so far?

RK: What excites me most today is the scale of opportunity before us. India’s aluminium demand is projected to grow nearly sixfold, from around 5.5 million tonnes today to an estimated 37 million tonnes by 2047, as the country accelerates its journey in energy transition, electric mobility, defence, infrastructure, and high-tech manufacturing. We are positioning Vedanta Aluminium to lead this transformation. The demerger will allow us to operate as a focused, pureplay aluminium company with sharper allocation, greater strategic agility, and the ability to unlock long-term value as we expand capacity, deepen value-added product offerings, and build a truly world class aluminium powerhouse for India.

What energises me every day is the work we are doing across the value chain, strengthening raw material security, scaling our refining and smelting footprint, advancing premium products for sunrise sectors, and embedding sustainability and digital excellence into the core of our operations. The challenge, of course, lies in navigating a rapidly evolving global market, ensuring cost competitiveness, and building future ready capabilities while growing at speed.

As India builds the manufacturing ecosystem of the future, I am excited to add to shaping an aluminium industry that is globally competitive, technologically advanced, and deeply aligned with the nation’s growth ambitions.