Hitachi Energy India launched its third factory in Karnataka, with a land spread of 5,000 sq meters, and will serve customers in power utilities, industries, renewable energy, and rail segments. It has invested close to ₹100 crore in building up the new facility. Hitachi Energy expects to double its existing power quality products’ capacity from 10,000 to 22,000 megavolt amperes of reactive power (MVAR) through its latest factory in Bengaluru.
Claudio Facchin, CEO, Hitachi Energy said, “India is an important market because of its size and competitiveness of the market, and the available talent pool. Moreover, it has all the building blocks and opportunities that the energy transition requires from the supply side. Our new manufacturing unit will facilitate India’s energy transition to net zero and it supports the Make in India Initiative, strengthens our long-lasting presence in Karnataka. We look forward to collaborating across stakeholders for the success of our shared vision.”
The new manufacturing facility doubles the existing capacity to produce advanced capacitor units, banks, and power electronic compensators for low, medium and high voltage systems used in the power utilities, industries, renewables, and transportation segments.
Fuelling growth
According to Venu Nuguri, Managing Director and CEO, India and South Asia region of Hitachi Energy, the use of semiconductors starts polluting the grids inside the electrical vehicle charging, electrical vehicle, or data centers, and these power quality products help in offsetting those disturbances. So, power quality products are important in the energy transition.
Karnataka’s Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai, says, “Karnataka is fuelling its ambition for industrial growth, and with long-term committed partners such as Hitachi Energy, we will continue to invest to make the state a global manufacturing hub”
The company said that itwill directly employ 300–400 people in its Bengaluru facility and will also offer indirect employment to local suppliers across the manufacturing value chain. Presently, Hitachi Energy has a global headcount of 38,000 people and employs 5,500 people in India. It will also serve as the global feeder factory for Hitachi Energy’s other facilities across the globe.