Tokyo-headquartered Proterial will invest around USD 80 million (over Rs 720 crore) to set up India’s first amorphous metal manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh to cater to the growing demand for the commodity, a top company executive said on Friday. Amorphous metal is an electrical grade steel used in power transformers that have seen an increased demand in the country, backed by government initiatives. Use of amorphous metal could improve the efficiency of transformers by up to 60 per cent.
“We have eyed India as the electricity demand is growing. Until now, we were supplying to our clients, but looking at the opportunities here, now we are setting up our facility in India,” Sean M Stack, Representative Director, Chairperson, President, & CEO at Proterial, told PTI in an interaction.
The proposed facility, to come up at Sri City in Tirupati, with investments in the range of USD 77-80 million, would be India’s first amorphous metal material manufacturing unit, Stack said. Sharing more details, he said a capacity of 30,000 tonnes is being built in the first phase.
The Andhra Pradesh project will increase the company’s overall manufacturing capability to produce amorphous metal material to 1 lakh tonnes. Asked about the timeline for the project, he said the civil work for the project is already underway, and the production is targeted to begin by the end of the current calendar year.
Sanjay Seth, CMD, Proterial (India), estimated India’s amorphous metal material annual demand at 60,000-70,000 tonnes, and said the 100 per cent requirement is met through imports. The Andhra Pradesh project is the company’s third amorphous metal material manufacturing unit. It has two such operational plants in Japan and the US, he said. Seth said the project is being set up under the government’s PLI Scheme for Speciality Steel.
About the applications of amorphous metal, the CMD explained that it is used in power distribution transformers and can reduce standby power usage by approximately one-third compared to those with electromagnetic steel sheets as the core material, enabling higher transformer efficiency. “Our plant will not only reduce dependence on imports but will also help improving efficiency of India-made transformers,” he said. The project will also help in the socio-economic development of the region by generating jobs and improving infrastructure, Seth said.
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