UltraTech Cement, an Aditya Birla Group company, will deploy 100 new Electric Vehicles for transporting material and products in its logistics operations.
The country’s largest cement company aims to deploy 500 electric trucks by next June as part of the Government’s eFAST initiative.
The company has signed a new transport service contract the transportation of 75,000 tonne of clinker per month from its integrated cement manufacturing unit Dhar Cement Works in Madhya Pradesh, to its grinding unit Dhule Cement Works in Maharashtra, which is about 400 kilometers (kms) distance for a roundtrip.
The scale up follows the successful pilot that commenced in January, wherein UltraTech introduced five electric trucks for transport of clinker on this route. The pilot also included deployment of the charging infrastructure and imparting intensive training to the truck drivers.
The company is also evaluating additional routes for deployment of more EV trucks in its logistics operations. UltraTech proposes to conduct another pilot using a similar model for transport of clinker between two other manufacturing units of the company.
The transportation of clinker using these electric trucks in place of fossil-fuel based trucks is estimated to help reduce transport emissions by 17,000 tonne of CO2 annually.
KC Jhanwar, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement said the scale up of EV trucks underscores the company’s commitment to drive the adopt sustainable practices and achieve net zero goal by 2050
The company introduced ‘Green Logistics’ in the form of CNG vehicles in 2021, LNG vehicles in 2022 and Electric Trucks in 2024. Through concerted efforts with logistics partners, the company currently has over 468 CNG trucks and 67 LNG trucks operational for transport materials across its manufacturing units.