The third edition of ICF discussed in-depth the Indian and global copper industry trends, challenges and opportunities.

International Copper Association India (ICA India) hosted the third edition of India Copper Forum (ICF) in association with Hindalco Industries Ltd and Vedanta Ltd at Shangri-La’s Eros Hotel in New Delhi on November 8, 2017. The guests of honor for the event were Arun Kumar, Secretary - Ministry of Mines and S Chadha, Joint Secretary - Ministry of Commerce who delivered keynote address. India Copper Forum is the largest non-commercial platform for the copper industry, which provides an opportunity for its key stakeholders to share their views on emerging trends, challenges and solutions.

India Copper Forum has built a strong reputation across the industry and has attracted active participation of over 180 delegates from across the copper value chain. Recognising the significance of copper in nation building and the advent of new and disruptive technologies like electric vehicles, energy infrastructure, energy storage, renewable energy and other sectors, the theme for 2017 was - ‘One India One vision: Copper in technology, innovation and transformation’.

Richard Xu, Regional Director – International Copper Association, Asia, commented, “ICA leads world’s copper industry on issues critical to securing coppers future growth. With 42 members and active representation in over 60 countries across the globe, we represent all sides of our business; upstream, downstream and processing. The objective of this event is to bring together all Indian stakeholders and deliberate with them on global best practices from economies such as China, where, active policy discourse is aiding transformative changes in electric mobility and energy. A holistic view is mandatory for India to realise its potential and match the Chinese consumption which is growing by 14% on Y-o-Y basis.”

Share his experience with Indian stakeholders, Victor Zhou, MD - International Copper Association of China, said, “The Chinese policy on electrification of vehicles is one of the best examples of fair and balanced deployment of resources, which can benefit India as it pursues electrification of vehicles aggressively. There are some common challenges however in that path, we believe that forums such as this, help everyone come together, learn and understand the challenges so that a solution to greener future can be found in a collaborative manner.

Evolving standards

According to Sanjeev Ranjan, Managing Director, International Copper Association India, ICA India is committed to defend and grow markets for copper based on its superior technical performance and its contribution to a better quality of life. Some of the key areas of focus are energy security, electrical safety, standardisation, certification & quality control of distribution transformers. ICA India is closely working with various industry players by promoting new technology, knowledge sharing and best practices. “ICA India is actively engaged with Bureau of Indian Standards on nine technical committees including rotating machinery, transformers, electrical installations, renewable energy, and power quality for upgradation and harmonization of Indian Standards for matching global levels. We are proud to play a part in supporting our partners and associates in realizing the dream to make copper metal of the future,” he said.

Ranjan added, “We are witnessing a strong demand for copper in the world and especially in China. As per ICA estimates 25.6 mn tonnes of copper was added in the 12th- 5 year plan of China. This will now increase to 29.2 mn tonnes during the upcoming 13th - 5 year plan. Thus there was a healthy growth of 14% of copper usage between these two 5-year plans. A major threat is the substitution of copper, which had peaked in the period 2007-2011, however now this practice is on the decline. On the other hand copper has gained new markets such as in aquaculture for copper enclosure facilities and copper mesh cages. Also in small diameter copper tubes in air conditioning and copper rotor for induction motors.”

This year ICA India exhibited the latest technology and applications of copper and the way forward for the industry to the delegates at the ‘Copper technology, innovation and transformation zone’ that was installed at the India Copper Forum. Key milestones and achievements of ICA India were also showcased at the event in the form of Hall of Fame. The association partners also leveraged this opportunity to showcase their range of 100% copper products to the larger copper industry in attendance.

Panel discussion

The first panel discussion, ‘Electric vehicle: Technology, innovation and transformation’, which was led by Dr Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Chennai, deliberated on Indian government’s vision of all electric vehicles by 2030. The expert panel shared insights on innovations and developments that has taken place and showcased the future roadmap to take India from merely a consumer to a global leader and a contributor. Further, the panel discussed road map for expediting the growth and market penetration of EVs in India and driving viability.

The panel presentation ‘Copper scenario’ led by session chairperson Subhash Chandra, Joint Secretary – Ministry of Mines, GoI emphasised on strategies the government is taking to boost exploration and mining. The panel presentations rallied around global copper demand & supply, economic indicators and low carbon megatrends. Frost & Sullivan also unveiled their report on distribution transformer tracker that advises governments and institutions and create awareness of power loss points for rectification.

Delegates at ICF also conversed on ‘Challenges for implementation and compliance of standards and policies’. The panel headed by Shailendra Shukla, Chairman, Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency stressed on implementation and compliance of national standards and policies.

Not only this, the third India Copper Forum 2017 also witnessed the Industry Recognition Excellence Awards 2017 to celebrate the achievements of individuals and organisations in the Indian copper industry. India Copper Forum was organised in partnership with Multi Commodity Exchange, Calderys India Refractories Ltd & Manifold as knowledge partner, silver sponsor and engagement partner respectively.