The Adani group is building the world’s largest single-location copper manufacturing plant at Mundra in Gujarat, which will help cut India’s dependence on imports and aid the energy transition.

The $1.2-billion facility will start operations of the first phase by March-end and full-scale 1 million tonnes capacity by 2028-29 (March 2029), Kutch Copper Ltd managing director Vinay Prakash said.

India joins China and other nations that are rapidly expanding production of copper, a metal crucial for transition away from fossil fuels. Technologies critical to the energy transition such as electric vehicles (EVs), charging infrastructure, solar photovoltaics (PV), wind and batteries, all require copper.

Kutch Copper Ltd (KCL), a subsidiary of the group’s flagship, Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), is setting up a greenfield copper refinery project with 1 million tonnes per annum capacity in two phases.

For Phase 1, capacity of 0.5 million tonnes per annum, KCL achieved financial closure through a syndicated club loan in June 2022.

“Adani wants to become a global leader in the copper business, leveraging the Adani Group’s strong position in resource trading, logistics, renewable power, and infrastructure,” Prakash said. “Their aim is to be the world’s largest copper smelting complex by 2030.”

He said India’s per capita copper consumption is estimated at around 0.6 kg compared with the global average of 3.2 kg.

“India’s drive towards clean energy systems, increasing penetration of electric vehicles and a host of associated applications are expected to double the domestic copper demand by 2030.”

"The Adani Group is investing heavily in energy transition, in which copper will play a vital role. It is expanding into adjacent areas of its current capabilities, which makes the copper business a strategic fit," he said.

Copper is the third most used industrial metal after steel and aluminium, and its demand is rising on the back of fast-growing renewable energy, telecom and electric vehicle industries. India's copper production has been unable to meet this demand.

PTI