Volvo Group launches the first Green Castings for its engines globally, developed & sourced from India

Volvo Group is committed to becoming a climate neutral company by 2040, this includes its supply chain & global suppliers from India. As a key milestone in this journey, Volvo Group in India today launched the First Green Castings that will go into building its engines. This is a significant step as India is a key source for Volvo Group’s global casting requirements. When fully adopted, the potential reduction in CO₂ per year due to Green Castings would amount to 0.86 million tons for Volvo & 210 million tons for the industry. Commercial Production of these green castings will start from this month. 

The green castings from India will include bearing caps and bearing housing for select Volvo engines. This is the first step. However, just these two parts translate to 8500 Tons CO₂ reduction for Volvo. When fully implemented, the impact of this initiative would be much higher. Assuming the industry adopts this approach, this could amount to 210 million tons of annual CO₂ emission reductions across Global Foundries. This is of special significance to India, which has a significant share of the global casting demand.

The castings being produced in India are certified by the Confederation of Indian Industry – Green Products & Services Council. As per the definition, the manufacturing of Green Casting involves the elimination of toxic chemicals and elements, has zero carbon footprint, uses minimal resources, where products can be recycled and reused, and comes with eco-friendly packaging.

These Green Castings, which will be produced by Brakes India, utilize scrap, alloys, and raw materials which are 100% radioactive elements free. It involves recycling of 100% metallic scrap generated by other industries to manufacture a usable product. The plant will operate on 100% green power from solar and wind energy. It will eliminate the use of diesel with Electric Ladle Preheater, a unique solution developed with AFECO India. This will also result in the elimination of pig iron, which is produced in a blast furnace with coal. Volvo has developed a unique technology that eliminates the Pig Iron usage by deploying Zirconium based inoculation, controlled chemistry, and a specific charge ratio.

 “At Volvo Group, we are proud to be playing a vital role in shaping the future of the transportation industry. India is a home base for the Group and we not only ‘Make in India’, but also design, process, sell and source from India to the world. In line with our global sustainability targets and ambitions, our aim is to create an environment that is safe and sustainable for future generations – while being immersed in advanced technology that goes into making world-leading commercial vehicles. Green Casting has the potential to kick-start a revolution in the casting manufacturing process for a sustainable future.”

Kamal Bali, President & Managing Director, Volvo Group in India,

Present at the launch of the Green Castings were Kamal Bali, President & Managing Director, Volvo Group in India; Marc Delobelle, Head of Fossil-free Materials Purchasing, Volvo Group, France; Girish DM, Head of India Purchasing & Group Truck Purchasing, Volvo Group, India; Sriram Viji, Managing Director, Brakes India; along with Parasuraman Ramachandran, Founding Chairman Green Products & Services Council, CII Godrej GBC and Devendra Jain, President, Institute of Indian Foundrymen.