KOLKATA | Nov 08, 2017: International Copper Association India (ICA India) on Wednesday hosted the third edition of India Copper Forum (ICF) in association with Hindalco Industries Ltd & Vedanta Ltd in New Delhi. ICF, the largest non-commercial platform for the copper industry for sharing views on emerging trends, challenges and solutions, discussed role of copper in new and disruptive technologies like electric vehicles, energy infrastructure and energy storage among other issues during the meet.
Recognizing the significance of copper in nation building new technologies like electric vehicles, energy infrastructure, energy storage, renewable energy and other sectors, the theme for ICF 2017 was - 'One India One vision - Copper in Technology, Innovation and Transformation'. It saw participation from over 180 delegates from across the copper value chain.
Sharing his views Richard Xu, Regional Director - International Copper Association, Asia said "The objective of this event is to bring together all Indian stakeholders and deliberate with them on global best practices from economies such as China, where, active policy discourse is aiding transformative changes in Electric mobility and Energy. A holistic view is mandatory for India to realise its potential and match the Chinese consumption which is growing by 14% on Y-o-Y basis."
With 42 members and active representation in over 60 countries across the globe, we represent all sides of our business; upstream, downstream and processing, he added.
Victor Zhou, Managing Director-International Copper Association of China said: "The Chinese policy on electrification of vehicles is one of the best examples of fair and balanced deployment of resources, which can benefit India as it pursues electrification of vehicles aggressively."
Commenting on the event, Sanjeev Ranjan, Managing Director, International Copper Association India said, "Some key focus areas for ICA are energy security, electrical safety, standardization, certification & quality control of distribution transformers." In particular, ICA India is actively engaged with Bureau of Indian Standards on nine technical committees including rotating machinery, transformers, electrical installations, renewable energy, and power quality for upgradation and harmonization of Indian Standards for matching global levels, he added.
"We are witnessing a strong demand for copper in the world and especially in China. As per ICA estimates 25.6 million tonne (mt) of copper was added in China's 12th- Five Year Plan. This will now increase to 29.2 mt during the upcoming 13th - Five Year Plan, a healthy growth of 14% of copper usage between these two Plans," he said.
While a major threat about substitution of copper, which had peaked in the period 2007-2011, is on the decline, copper has gained new markets such as in aquaculture for copper enclosure facilities and copper mesh cages and in small diameter copper tubes used in air conditioning and copper rotor for induction motors, he added.
The guests of honor for the event were Arun Kumar, Secretary - Ministry of Mines and S Chadha, Joint Secretary - Ministry of Commerce, who delivered the keynote address. The first panel discussion at the meet, Electric Vehicle - Technology, Innovation and Transformation, which was led by Prof. Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT-Chennai deliberated on Indian government's vision of all electric vehicles by 2030, sharing insights on innovations and developments in the area and showcased the future roadmap to take India from merely a consumer to a global leader and a contributor.
It also discussed a road map for expediting growth and market penetration of EVs in India and driving viability. A panel presentation on 'Copper Scenario' led by session chairperson, Subhash Chandra, Joint Secretary - Ministry of Mines, GOI emphasized on strategies the government is taking to boost exploration and mining.
(Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/)