Handling auto waste is emerging as a big issue and the automotive industry should create a ‘disposal chain', similar to supply chain, so that vehicles that ultimately turn into scrap bundles can be effectively disposed of, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, R. Chidambaram, said on Monday.
Delivering the inaugural address at the fourth edition of ‘Automotive R&D trends 2015: automotive technology – mobility as a system', organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), he said that the issue could not be ignored any longer.
The latest generation vehicles could be described as computer on wheels as they were coming out with more embedded systems and hence their disposal required greater attention as was being done in advanced countries.
Semi-skilled labourers are required to remove valuable parts such as aluminium. Through effective recycling, one can generate two million tonnes of steel, 1.50 lakh tonnes of aluminium, 75,000 tonnes of rubber and plastic by 2020.
This figure will increase by 10 per cent annually and reduce carbon dioxide emission. It will require only seven per cent of electrical energy to produce aluminium from recycled material, he said. The Ministry of Heavy Industries and the automobile industry have set up a demo centre for automobile recycling at the Global Automotive Research Centre, Oragadam. A large number of cars and two-wheelers have been donated to kickstart it.
Chennai has the right environment to become the automotive research and development hub owing to the presence of a number of automotive research centres of the industry and academic institutions in and around the city. R&D is needed in areas such as materials (to create lightweight alloys, joining of different types of materials), energy efficiency, emission control, driver assistance, safety and embedded systems, he said.
“These developments are possible only if the Indian automotive sector optimally utilises the R&D capabilities of the academic institutions and national laboratories. The e-infrastructure in India is also growing very rapidly, and must be effectively utilised by the automotive sector.”
Michael Carter, Consul - Commercial and Trade Commissioner for Australia to South India, said that a delegation from the State of Victoria was in the city looking for collaboration in automotive research and development and innovation.
Alejandro Vera Casso, Investment Promotion Unit of Asia-Latin America under UNIDO, said they were foraying into aerospace unit by setting up a small team in Bangalore to provide diagnostics report to medium and small firms engaged in the aerospace sector.
