One the leading trade fairs for the global electrical and electronics industry provided an ideal platform for knowledge-sharing for all the stakeholders in the industry. A report… With more than 298,000 footfalls, the 13th edition of Elecrama - organised by Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida from March 10 to 14, 2018 – received an overwhelming response from the industry. Over 1,200 exhibitors, including 300 foreign companies across 120 countries, brought together a complete spectrum of solutions that powers the planet. Organisers said business queries of more than $ 1 billion were estimated to have been generated at the event. “We had a lot of visitors from 120-plus countries who experienced transformational developments taking place in India and globally,” claimed Vijay Karia, Chairman, Elecrama.

Inauguration day

Speaking at the inauguration, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, said, “The government should support manufacturers of electrical and electronics equipment and protect the industry from cheap imports. At the same time, industry leaders must embrace digital technologies and come up with futurist solutions to meet India’s growing need for sustainable power. The industry must align itself with the government’s vision of LPG – liberalisation, privatisation, globalisation – and brace up for global markets.”

The electrical and electronics industry is estimated to provide direct employment to five lakh people and indirectly employment to 10 lakh people. “With path-breaking economic reforms and annual GDP growth rate of about 7.2 per cent, India is poised to become the third largest economy worldwide in the next 15 years. The electrical, industrial electronics and allied equipment industry must invest in research and development of storage systems so that electricity can reach all households,” Naidu stated.

The Vice President said the government plans to put six to seven million vehicles on Indian roads by 2020 to reduce carbon emissions. He also called for innovative solutions to harness solar power for environment protection and sustainable development.

Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry, stated that the Indian electrical and electronics industry has the skills and capacity to explore global markets, and called for adopting new technologies to improve energy efficiencies. He added, “Elecrama 2018 is a global event showcasing integrated solutions to complex energy problems. Apart from being a premier showcase of product and technology, it is also a leading business networking, knowledge and thought leadership platform for the industry.” According to Shreegopal Kabra, President, IEEMA (which has a membership of more than 800 with a combined turnover of over $ 42 billion), the electrical equipment industry hopes to export goods worth $ 35 billion by 2022, up from $ 6 billion at present.

New-age technologies

On the occasion, Vijay Karia said the industry is aligned with government initiatives like Make in India and Power to All 24 x 7 by 2022. Manufacturers are looking forward to a favourable policy environment to capitalise on new opportunities being created by artificial intelligence, machine learning, block chain and a combination of innovation in manufacturing of electrical gadgets, equipment, machineries and energy efficiency programmes.

Elecrama is now focusing on the paradigm shift from the earlier T&D in electricity space to the focus on electric vehicles, Internet of Things (IoT), storage solutions and renewable energy. “The country has recorded rapid economic growth in recent years and is fast transitioning from fossil fuels to renewables sources to generate electricity. It is heartening to note that Elecrama 2018 emerged as a platform for knowledge-sharing with a strong focus on electric vehicles, Internet of Things (IoT), storage solutions and renewable energy,” Karia added.

Power sector getting a digital touch

Power utilities are accelerating technology innovations that will immensely impact the way they deal with their customers, partners and workforces in future. To survive and thrive in the digital economy, they will have to work on emerging technologies that can help create competitive advantage, generate value, overcome legal and regulatory hurdles, reduce operating costs and enable transformational business models leading to energy services providers.

In addition, market forces such as customers turning producers, rise of renewable sources of energy and industry convergence are pushing utilities to think out-of-the-box, experts said at the 2nd edition of three-day World Utility Summit 2018 held concurrently with Elecrama 2018.

Over 300 delegates were present at the inaugural session presided over by Arvind Singh, Principal Secretary (Energy) at the Maharashtra government. Also present at the summit were Shreegopal Kabra, President, IEEMA; Vijay Karia, Chairman of Elecrama 2018; Vikram Gandotra, Convenor of World Utility Summit 2018; Saifur Rahman, President of US-based IEEE Power and Energy Society; Jasper Wieck, Head of the Department for Economic and Global Affairs at German Embassy in New Delhi; and R Nagaraja, Chair of World Utility Summit 2018. With energy transfer and consumption increasingly being done through electricity, unprecedented changes are underway in its generation, transmission, distribution and consumption due to new trends of 3Ds: decarbonisation, decentralisation and digitalisation.

Thus, the current role of utilities needs to evolve to be future-ready. Technology, which is on display at Elecrama, provides new tools that help utilities to embrace the change with proper implementation, said the experts. A sound and fair regulatory framework can encourage utilities to invest for change while protecting the interests of end consumers. The conventional definition of utility will alter due to convergence of various factors. Future utilities will have to embrace Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, artificial intelligence and plethora of new technologies (like block chain) to deliver energy. These developments will bring the much-needed transparency in the system, resulting in better consumer experience and lowering costs.

A combination of innovation in manufacturing of electrical gadgets, equipment, machineries and energy efficiency programmes are making most industrial manufacturers more efficient than they were a few years ago, said the experts at the summit.

Aiding the electromobility

The coming decades will also see electric vehicles displace a growing chunk of global oil demand. For the immediate future, car manufacturers have started edging towards acceptance with major players obliging towards a wider portfolio of electric cars. At the same time, energy storage dispositions in emerging markets globally are expected to increase by 40% annually. In line with this trend, Elecrama had a large display of e-scooters, e-rickshaws and other e-vehicles.

Exploring India's potential

Elecrama not only offered Indian manufacturers a platform to learn from their counterparts in developed countries, but also provided an opportunity to overseas companies to explore the potential of Indian market.

As Jye Ying Lu, Director of Malaysia-based Powerpoint Electrical, rightly, said, "This has been my second visit to Elecrama. It is very well organised and everything is inter-linked. We have had good opportunity to meet Indian manufacturers. The Indian industry has matured and improved a lot over the past 10 years. The products are well received in Malaysian and other markets as well.”

Ornousa Sok Pona, Director at Thailand’s government-owned Provincial Electricity Authority, added, “In terms knowledge-sharing, Elecrama is of immense value. We hope to explore new products available in Indian markets.”

In fact, some global companies pronounced their plans to invest and expand their operations in India. For example, the US- headquartered Unipower Llc announced expansion of its service solutions by offering a complete range of products for the DC power market in India. Traditionally known for servicing telecom, utility, RE (renewable energy), EV (electric vehicle) and datacom markets, Unipower’s utility market solutions have deployed to provide reliable, backed up DC power for critical management and control systems. The company showcased its range of solutions at Elecrama 2018.

“Our NPS and IPS solutions are sought-after in North America, Europe and South America. We are excited to share our diverse range of power solutions at Elecrama, and we look forward to harboring new relationships and seeing the growth of the India markets firsthand,” said John Ely, Vice President of Marketing, Unipower.

A launch pad

Elecrama 2018 also witnessed a slew of launches. In support of the Indian Government’s electromobility drive, Delta Electronics India Pvt Ltd, a leading power and energy management company, introduced launched its complete range of energy efficient electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions in India. The advanced EV charging solution offerings from Delta will enable the ecosystem to keep pace with the growing demands for a robust electric automobile infrastructure.

Delta Electronics (Thailand) PCL, the parent company of Delta Electronics India, also announced the launch of fourth multi-million dollar manufacturing plant in the country at Krishnagiri (Tamil Nadu). The EV charging solutions launched by Delta will also be manufactured at this plant. Along with its state-of-the-art R&D Centre in Bengaluru, Delta is looking at investments of over a $ 150 million in India.

“Driven by robust product engineering, R&D, service support infrastructure and most importantly domain knowledge, Delta in India has been successful in growing 35 times over in the past 14 years. Our India growth trajectory has been a resilient legacy of accomplishments in telecom power, industrial automation, solar inverters, display solutions, to name a few. We have now embarked on the journey to expand upon these core values and entering the EV charging, energy storage and rail transportation solutions industries. Our entire suite of solutions in EV charging will complement the Indian e-mobility initiative providing a reliable technology and backing of the Delta brand,” said Dalip Sharma, Managing Director of Delta Electronics India Pvt Ltd.

Similarly, HPL Electric & Power Ltd, an electric equipment manufacturing company, launched new products in the category of smart energy meters, solar specialty cables and distribution boxes, energy efficient LED lighting products, switchgear range and a brand new Premium MCB range ‘Osafe’.

Commenting on the launch, Gautam Seth, Joint Managing Director, HPL Electric & Power Ltd, said, “Our experience over the last few years at Elecrama has been extremely positive, helping us to showcase our offering and connect with customers, consultants and industry experts apart from the Indian market this also connects us to reach the various global customers seeking best in class technology & quality products. This year, we are showcasing a lot of efficient and futuristic products and a premium range of MCB, DB & RCCB ‘Osafe’. As a company, we always look forward to such opportunities to connect with all our customers & key stakeholders to highlight our new and efficient product offerings.”

Electrifying response

Elecrama offered an ideal platform to showcase latest product offerings and provide hands-on experience of products and technology in electrical equipment and manufacturing space to relevant audience. Elecrama, the largest congregation of power sector ecosystem in the geography, featured not only equipment & technology, but also provided thought leadership platforms for everything electric.