NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, FEB 6
Aiming to work in tandem with the Centre’s Green Energy drive and cash in on the electric vehicle push in self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat), GHCL Limited, an arm of the Dalmia Group, is coming up with a soda ash manufacturing unit in Bada village of Mandvi taluka, off the coast of Kutch. This environment-friendly plant will become operational by 2025 after getting the necessary clearance from the concerned authorities, said a top official of the company.
- Over 20% of India’s soda ash demand is met from imports, underlining the need for enhanced domestic capacities on the lines of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
- GHCL’s ambitious plant will not just script India’s growth story in its energy transition goals through self-reliance but also generate direct and indirect employment for at least 50,000 people.
Speaking with navjeevanexpress.com, RS Jalan, Managing Director, GHCL Limited, said, “India produces 6% of the total soda ash manufacturing global capacity, also has a magnified focus on green energy transition. This will amplify the requirement for soda ash – a key raw material in manufacturing solar glass. At the same time, the push for increasing adoption of electric vehicles will also drive the demand for Soda Ash – which is used to process lithium ore for producing lithium carbonate. Additionally, soda ash derivate product sodium bicarbonate is used in treatment of industrial flue gas treatment (FGT), which has the potential to grow in future with increasing adoption and growing environmental concerns.”
“Taking India’s green energy targets into account, India alone will see soda ash demand to grow to 6.0 MTPA by 2030. At this pace, India is expected to remain a net importer of soda ash, unless fresh capacities are announced, which are inevitable to support the country’s growth agenda. Between 2023 and 2030, India only has one major capacity enhancement announced. With demand expected to increase furthermore, this makes the country even more dependent upon imports from other countries such as China and Turkey,” Jalan added.
Being the second largest manufacturer of anhydrous sodium carbonate (Soda Ash) in India with a nearly four-decade-long presence here, GHCL fulfils about 25% of the country’s total annual demand for Soda Ash, through its plant at Sutrapada in Gujarat. The plant has an installed capacity of 1.2 million tonne per annum (MTPA) of soda ash. Besides, it also has a backward integration of limestone, lignite mines and salt works with a vast presence in both Gujarat and Tamil Nadu.
The demand for Soda Ash has grown at 2-3% every year across the world. Against this, the demand in India has grown by 5% every year. Over 20% of India’s soda ash demand is met from imports, underlining the need for enhanced domestic capacities on the lines of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
“To meet the growing needs for soda ash in India, domestic capacity additions are inevitable. Soda Ash is manufactured from raw materials like salt and limestone, which are natural and non-toxic. Treated effluents discharged into sea are also non-toxic, which are compatible with sea body system and helps stabilize sea-shore against erosion. GHCL is committed to establish this plant with ultra-modern technology with a focus on carbon neutrality and by exploring use of green energy resources. For this the company had signed an MoU with the Government of Gujarat during the Vibrant Global Gujarat Summit (VGGS) 2017, GHCL has committed an ambitious Greenfield project with an outlay of Rs 4,000 crore, to set up a state-of-the-art soda ash manufacturing capacity of 0.5 MTPA,” Jalan added.
GHCL’s ambitious plant will not just script India’s growth story in its energy transition goals through self-reliance but also generate direct and indirect employment for at least 50,000 people. It will also encourage establishment of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the logistics, transportation and packaging material segments in the plant’s vicinity.
