Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest aluminium producer, and manufacturing deep-tech incubator V-Spark have unveiled a series of technology partnerships aimed at accelerating artificial intelligence, automation and digital transformation across large-scale industrial operations.
The initiatives were announced at MetALverse, a technology showcase held in Jharsuguda, Odisha, where global technology companies, deep-tech startups and industry experts came together to identify and scale technologies for industrial applications. The partnerships are expected to unlock up to Rs 2,100 crore in potential business value through the adoption of advanced technologies.
The collaborations will target areas including plant productivity, cost optimisation, asset reliability, sustainability and operational decision-making across Vedanta Aluminium’s integrated value chain.
The company’s operations across mining, alumina refining and aluminium production will provide live industrial environments for testing and deploying the technologies. The focus is on moving deep-tech solutions beyond pilot projects and towards deployment at scale across operating facilities.
Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Non-Executive Director, Vedanta Limited and Chairperson, Hindustan Zinc, said India’s manufacturing sector is entering a defining decade, with companies needing to combine scale with intelligence and sustainability.
“At Vedanta Aluminium, we see AI as a catalyst for that transformation, with human intelligence providing the judgement and direction behind it,” she said.
The company has partnered with technology providers including OpenAI for generative AI and intelligent agents, Microsoft for cloud and AI transformation, SAP for enterprise processes, AVEVA for digital twins and industrial analytics, Rockwell Automation for smart manufacturing solutions, Thoughtworks for digital engineering and Fives for aluminium process technologies.
Vedanta Aluminium is also working with deep-tech startups such as Ripik.AI, XYMA, Faclon, DesignX, DigitalPaani, AutoVRse, Enmovil and ideaForge. Their solutions span industrial computer vision, asset monitoring, factory workflows, water optimisation, workforce training, logistics and drone-based intelligence.
Akarsh Hebbar, Non-Executive Vice Chairman, Vedanta Aluminium and Chairman, V-Spark DeepTech Ventures, said the opportunity lies in deploying emerging technologies at industrial scale and linking innovation directly to measurable business outcomes.
“Vedanta Aluminium provides the operating footprint, technical depth and scale required to industrialise breakthrough solutions, while V-Spark enables the identification, validation and acceleration of these technologies,” he said.
The programme will cover technology evaluation, data integration, pilot implementation and enterprise-scale deployment. Through the V-Spark ecosystem, Vedanta Aluminium is currently working with nearly 70 startups across its major facilities, including the alumina refinery at Lanjigarh, its aluminium plant in Jharsuguda and BALCO in Korba, Chhattisgarh.
The company is looking to use AI-led manufacturing, automation and digital intelligence to improve operational efficiency, workplace safety, sustainability and decision-making across its aluminium production network.
The partnerships mark a broader push to bring deep-tech solutions into the core of industrial operations, with Vedanta Aluminium positioning its large manufacturing footprint as a testing ground for technologies that can subsequently be deployed across its wider operations.
