Metals startup Runaya gets OPCB's approval to set up unit in Odisha

Runaya Refining, a metals start-up company floated by the Agarwal brothers- Naivedya and Annanya, sons of Vedanta Ltd's executive chairman Navin Agarwal, has got the consent from the Odisha Pollution Control Board to set up its project in the state.

Earlier, in November last year, the company got the nod from the State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA) to set up an aluminium dross refining unit at Jharsuguda with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes per annum. The project to cost Rs 644.3 million, would generate employment for 175 people. Vedanta has an aluminium smelting unit at Jharsuguda with an annual production capacity of 0.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). Apart from this standalone unit, the company has developed another aluminium smelter of 1.25 mtpa capacity in an SEZ (Special Economic Zone) designated area in the vicinity of the Jharsuguda smelter.

Runaya Refining already has a technology licensing pact with Bahrain's Taha International, a company with patented technology for aluminium dross processing. Taha has developed a unique, two-stage process to recover metal from dross, a by-product of the aluminium industry. The patented technology helps to refine the residual oxides and converts them to value added products like fertiliser or slag steel conditioner.

The products of the proposed unit are expected to find usage in several high end applications, including additive technologies and solar energy. Currently, the demand for these products in India is being met through global sources.