Ultratech to Reach 85% Green Energy by 2030

Mumbai, Dec 13 (PTI) The largest cement and ready-mix concrete maker Ultratech Cement on Wednesday announced that it plans to increase the overall share of green energy in its total energy mix to 85 per cent by 2030.

As an interim target for its sustainability objectives and targets, the AV Birla Group company plans to increase its total green energy share from its current 22 per cent to 60 per cent by FY26.

Currently the company has 691 MW of green energy capacity, which includes 262 MW of WHRS (waste heat recovery system) installed capacity and 429 MW of contracted renewable energy. This translates to about 22 per cent of its current energy requirements.

"As the country's largest cement maker, it is our responsibility to lead the way in building a more sustainable and green future for the industry by decarbonization. We've been constantly scaling up our green energy mix over the years," said KC Jhanwar, the managing director.

Ultratech targets to meet 100 per cent of its electricity requirement through renewable sources by 2050, as part of its commitment towards green power.
As a member of EP100, Ultratech is committed to doubling its energy productivity.

To boost the share of green energy in the overall energy mix, the company has taken several initiatives including switching to renewable energy sources and expanding waste heat recovery systems. It has been reducing reliance on thermal energy in manufacturing operations and also driving adoption of sustainable transport with logistics partners.

Recently it partnered with Coolbrook, a Finland-based transformational technology and engineering company to jointly develop a project to implement Coolbrook's rotodynamic heater (RDH) technology in one of its manufacturing units. This technology uses electrification from renewable sources for heating thus removing the need for fossil fuels.

Similarly it is actively exploring innovative technologies like carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) in collaboration with startup technology companies such as CarbonOrO, Coomtech, and Fortera.

To reduce carbon footprint in its logistics segment, Ultratech has introduced CNG/LNG trucks.

It has plans to deploy 500 electric trucks and add 1,000 40 tonne CNG/LNG trucks by June 2025 as part of government's eFast initiative.

Ultratech first introduced CNG vehicles in its operations in 2021 and LNG vehicles in 2022 and has over 390 CNG trucks and 50 LNG trucks operational across 17 manufacturing units.