Vedanta Aluminium secures patent for breakthrough graphite recovery technology from industrial waste

THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

NEW DELHI, MAY 13, 2025

In a landmark announcement on National Technology Day 2025, Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest aluminium producer, revealed it has secured a patent for an innovative process to extract high-purity graphite (over 99%) from aluminium industry waste. This development marks a significant leap forward for India’s deep-tech innovation landscape and supports the national vision of self-reliance in critical minerals.

Unveiled in alignment with this year’s theme, ‘YANTRA – Yugantar for Advancing New Technology, Research & Acceleration’, Vedanta Aluminium’s breakthrough exemplifies how industrial innovation can turn waste into a strategic national resource. The cutting-edge technology not only advances India’s Net Zero goals and circular economy mission, but also directly supports key national priorities like Atmanirbhar Bharat and the National Critical Minerals Mission.

Developed in-house by Vedanta Aluminium’s R&D team in partnership with the CSIR – Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar, the patented process recovers battery-grade graphite from two key aluminium waste streams: Spent Pot Lining (SPL) and Shot Blast Dust. This addresses one of the aluminium industry’s toughest waste management challenges while offering a scalable solution for critical mineral recovery.

“The graphite recovered through this process exhibits exceptional electrical conductivity and structural integrity, making it ideal for lithium-ion battery applications,” said Rajiv Kumar, CEO of Vedanta Aluminium. “With India’s growing demand for electric vehicles, renewable energy storage, and high-tech electronics, this innovation is timely, transformative, and vital to reducing our over 70% dependence on imported graphite,” he added.

In 2024, India imported approximately $41 million worth of natural graphite, making it one of the top three importers in the Asia-Pacific region alongside South Korea and Japan. Vedanta Aluminium’s new technology could significantly offset this dependence, ensuring domestic availability of a critical resource essential for the energy transition.

This breakthrough also underscores Vedanta Aluminium’s commitment to zero-waste, future-ready manufacturing. The company, which produced 2.42 million tonnes of aluminium in FY25, is a global sustainability leader — ranked 2nd globally in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2024 for the aluminium industry.