COMING FULL CIRCLE

Tamil Nadu accounts for 35% of India's automotive production and more than 40% of auto exports. But as the state prepares for the next phase of investments and manufacturing growth, it is eyeing a new-age production strategy focussed on circular manufacturing and cluster collaboration in electric mobility. Many of these future-ready ideas are included in a just-released State Planning Commission report (titled Powering Tamil Nadu's Automotive Manufacturing Growth) being scrutinised by the govt. Says state industries minister TRB Rajaa, "The report lays out a clear, ambitious and actionable roadmap for the EV sector, one that places innovation, inclusion and impact at the centre of growth." The idea, he says, is to secure "long-term leadership in the sector."Some of these ideas are in the process of being greenlit. "Recommendations on the skilling and R&D side are already being put into action. We're coming up with a circular economy policy to encourage reuse of recoverables," says state industries secretary V Arun Roy. TN will not only focus on making EVs and parts, but on reuse and recycling as well as scrappage opportunities as part of an end-to-end manufacturing strategy. Some of that effort is already bearing fruit. The govt has approved a unit to be set up in Hosur for recycling lithium-ion batteries, the industry secretary says. "There is scope in scrapping and usage of recycled steel, which can reduce cost and improve manufacturing competitiveness. But we must keep safety and ecosystem requirements in mind," adds Arun Roy.MSMEs will play a big role in circular manufacturing. Says Atul Anand, state MSME secretary: "MSMEs can be part of TN's focus on battery manufacturing and circular manufacturing, including second-life applications, battery reuse, and material recovery." This includes refurbishing, repurposing used EV batteries for applications like energy storage systems for green energy grids or backup power for commercial, residential use. They could set up small-scale recycling units to recover materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel from spent batteries, extend blockchain for traceability in auto manufacturing and battery recycling as well as 3D printing of low-volume complex parts, he adds.The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), apex body for the auto component industry, is on board with this vision which "reaffirms the state's leadership as a critical hub in India's mobility value chain — not just in traditional manufacturing, but in driving the next wave of electric, intelligent, and sustainable vehicles," says Shradha Suri Marwah, president, ACMA & CMD Subros.For circular manufacturing to work, the report's cluster collaboration concept — which bundles industry and academia to create factory-floor innovation — is also being piloted. "As part of setting up cluster parks close to academic institutions, we're developing University Research Parks in TN," says V Arun Roy. "We're tying up with Kamaraj University in Madurai and Bharatiyar University in Coimbatore, and there will be a soft launch." These parks will offer manufacturing solutions when industry approaches them with production-related problems, he says.This ties into TN's skilling focus on making the next-gen factory worker proficient in factory analytics, IOT, machining learning and AI. "The push to skill up through a dedicated Mobility Skills 2030 programme, along with EV servicing support for MSMEs (as suggested by the State Planning Commission Report), shows real intent," says Rajaa. Interestingly, some of the critical skilling interventions are coming from industry instead. Take Delta Electronics, which has launched a Centre of Excellence (CoE) programme with Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC). This involves a tie-up with local engineering or polytechnic colleges to train future staff on working with robots. Said Rachna Kango, senior director, ESG & strategic marketing, Delta Electronics India: "The segment-agnostic programme will help engineering or ITI grads to be employed in any manufacturing unit, auto, electronics or cement. We conduct a short-term (one-month) and long-term (3-4 months) course to train between 200 and 300 students every year. We will tie up with an engineering college in Ber, Krishnagiri district (an EV hub), for this course," she added.The move to make TN's auto industry future-ready will work only when new-age production is backed by scale. Says Satyakam Arya, MD & CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, "To attract the next generation of automotive manufacturing, Tamil Nadu needs to focus on gaining scale and efficiency, evolving with Industry 4.0 technologies, and investing in new mobility solutions such as electric, hydrogen, and gas."Tamil Nadu accounts for 35% of India's automotive production and more than 40% of auto exports. But as the state prepares for the next phase of investments and manufacturing growth, it is eyeing a new-age production strategy focussed on circular manufacturing and cluster collaboration in electric mobility. Many of these future-ready ideas are included in a just-released State Planning Commission report (titled Powering Tamil Nadu's Automotive Manufacturing Growth) being scrutinised by the govt. Says state industries minister TRB Rajaa, "The report lays out a clear, ambitious and actionable roadmap for the EV sector, one that places innovation, inclusion and impact at the centre of growth." The idea, he says, is to secure "long-term leadership in the sector."Some of these ideas are in the process of being greenlit. "Recommendations on the skilling and R&D side are already being put into action. We're coming up with a circular economy policy to encourage reuse of recoverables," says state industries secretary V Arun Roy. TN will not only focus on making EVs and parts, but on reuse and recycling as well as scrappage opportunities as part of an end-to-end manufacturing strategy. Some of that effort is already bearing fruit. The govt has approved a unit to be set up in Hosur for recycling lithium-ion batteries, the industry secretary says. "There is scope in scrapping and usage of recycled steel, which can reduce cost and improve manufacturing competitiveness. But we must keep safety and ecosystem requirements in mind," adds Arun Roy.MSMEs will play a big role in circular manufacturing. Says Atul Anand, state MSME secretary: "MSMEs can be part of TN's focus on battery manufacturing and circular manufacturing, including second-life applications, battery reuse, and material recovery." This includes refurbishing, repurposing used EV batteries for applications like energy storage systems for green energy grids or backup power for commercial, residential use. They could set up small-scale recycling units to recover materials like lithium, cobalt, nickel from spent batteries, extend blockchain for traceability in auto manufacturing and battery recycling as well as 3D printing of low-volume complex parts, he adds.The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA), apex body for the auto component industry, is on board with this vision which "reaffirms the state's leadership as a critical hub in India's mobility value chain — not just in traditional manufacturing, but in driving the next wave of electric, intelligent, and sustainable vehicles," says Shradha Suri Marwah, president, ACMA & CMD Subros.For circular manufacturing to work, the report's cluster collaboration concept — which bundles industry and academia to create factory-floor innovation — is also being piloted. "As part of setting up cluster parks close to academic institutions, we're developing University Research Parks in TN," says V Arun Roy. "We're tying up with Kamaraj University in Madurai and Bharatiyar University in Coimbatore, and there will be a soft launch." These parks will offer manufacturing solutions when industry approaches them with production-related problems, he says.This ties into TN's skilling focus on making the next-gen factory worker proficient in factory analytics, IOT, machining learning and AI. "The push to skill up through a dedicated Mobility Skills 2030 programme, along with EV servicing support for MSMEs (as suggested by the State Planning Commission Report), shows real intent," says Rajaa. Interestingly, some of the critical skilling interventions are coming from industry instead. Take Delta Electronics, which has launched a Centre of Excellence (CoE) programme with Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation (TNSDC). This involves a tie-up with local engineering or polytechnic colleges to train future staff on working with robots. Said Rachna Kango, senior director, ESG & strategic marketing, Delta Electronics India: "The segment-agnostic programme will help engineering or ITI grads to be employed in any manufacturing unit, auto, electronics or cement. We conduct a short-term (one-month) and long-term (3-4 months) course to train between 200 and 300 students every year. We will tie up with an engineering college in Ber, Krishnagiri district (an EV hub), for this course," she added.The move to make TN's auto industry future-ready will work only when new-age production is backed by scale. Says Satyakam Arya, MD & CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, "To attract the next generation of automotive manufacturing, Tamil Nadu needs to focus on gaining scale and efficiency, evolving with Industry 4.0 technologies, and investing in new mobility solutions such as electric, hydrogen, and gas."