Concrete

AAC blocks are eco-friendly and sustainable

Published

3 years ago

October 19, 2023

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Narayan Saboo, Chairman, Bigbloc Construction, discusses the qualities of AAC blocks and its environmentally friendly properties.

What is the composition of Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) blocks?
AAC is a lightweight, precast, cellular concrete. It is a green building material composed of fly ash, gypsum, lime, portland cement, water and aluminum powder. AAC blocks are made in rectangular prism shape only.

What is the core functionality of the blocks?
AAC blocks are widely used in the construction of apartments and other types of residential properties, industrial and commercial buildings. Owing to their excellent heat insulation capacity and thermal resistance, AAC blocks find application in interior and exterior construction.

What brings strength and durability to these blocks?
These materials include cement, lime, fly ash, gypsum, aluminum powder and some other additives. The precise combination and proportion of these materials contribute to their overall strength.

How do you ensure quality standards?
We make AAC blocks as per BIS code IS 2185 Part 3, guidelines in IS code to ensure quality standards.

What are the key advantages of using these blocks as building materials?
AAC blocks are eco-friendly and sustainable. They are lightweight, thermally insulated, energy efficient and fire resistant. Their other qualities include acoustics performance, easy workability, design flexibility and faster construction. AAC Blocks are one-third in weight as compared to red bricks thereby reducing the dead load on the building and resulting in huge saving of structural costs. Also, as the size is equivalent to almost nine red bricks, construction is much faster; the labour required is less; joints in the wall are also less thereby resulting in mortar savings, too.

How does it impact the environment?
AAC blocks are eco-friendly and sustainable. They are green lightweight building materials, with less transport cost. This material warms the room during the winter and cools it during the summer, reducing air-conditioning system usage by at least 25 per cent. Non-toxic and pest repellent, they prevent soil erosion and consume less water. Use of red bricks results in an upper layer of soil erosion, which makes the land barren or infertile in the long run.

What innovations can we expect from you?
We are starting with the manufacturing of ALC panels, which is further advancement of technology as ALC panels are a new age building material that is a further advancement of AAC Blocks.
Panels are reinforced with steel and they will make construction much faster, too. Also, we are looking to get many other new age building materials in our partnership with SCG.

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Kirby India Breaks Ground on Fourth PEB Plant in Tamil Nadu

New Manapparai facility will lift annual capacity to 400,000 tonnes by mid-2027

Published

5 hours ago

September 7, 2026

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Kirby Building Systems & Structures India has recently broken ground on its fourth manufacturing facility in Manapparai, near Trichy, Tamil Nadu. The plant will be developed across approximately 33.2 acres and have an annual manufacturing capacity of 100,000 metric tonnes, with commercial operations expected to begin by mid-2027.

Once operational, the facility will increase Kirby India’s total annual manufacturing capacity from 300,000 metric tonnes to 400,000 metric tonnes. The expansion is aimed at strengthening the company’s presence in Southern India and enabling faster and more flexible deliveries to customers across key industrial markets.

The new facility will complement Kirby India’s existing manufacturing plants in Hyderabad, Haridwar and Halol, Gujarat. The company said it continues to invest in advanced engineering, automation, digital technologies and manufacturing capabilities to meet growing demand from India’s industrial and infrastructure sectors.

Kirby India has operated in the country for more than 26 years and is supported by over 25 sales offices and more than 150 certified builders. The company has completed more than 45,000 buildings in India, representing a total built-up area of approximately 50 million sq m. The Tamil Nadu expansion also supports Kirby’s broader transition from a PEB manufacturer to an engineering and structural steel solutions provider.

Concrete

UltraTech to Deploy 600+ Electric Trucks by Dec 2026

Cement major expands green logistics to cut emissions across supply chain

Published

4 days ago

September 3, 2026

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UltraTech Cement Limited, an Aditya Birla Group company, plans to expand its electric vehicle fleet in logistics operations to more than 600 EV trucks by December 2026, strengthening its green transport initiatives.

The company has signed service agreements with leading EV prime mover manufacturers, including Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, IPLTech, Energy in Motion and Sany, along with their subsidiaries and logistics partners, for deploying electric trucks.

The expanded fleet will transport around five million MT of clinker and other key materials annually across Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha. Once operational, the fleet is expected to reduce annual CO₂ emissions by over 1,17,000 tonnes and replace nearly 39 million litres of diesel consumption.

K C Jhanwar, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement Limited, said the company is extending sustainability beyond its manufacturing plants by adopting greener logistics solutions and decarbonising its value chain.

UltraTech has been among the early adopters of sustainable transport in the cement sector, introducing CNG trucks in 2021 and electric trucks in 2024. The company currently operates more than 850 trucks under its green logistics programme, including CNG and electric vehicles.

With a grey cement capacity exceeding 200 MTPA in India, UltraTech is integrating electrification across its logistics network, covering mine-to-plant movement and inter-plant transportation of clinker and other materials.

Concrete

UltraTech Cement expands green logistics with 600+ electric truck fleet

Published

4 days ago

September 3, 2026

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The e-truck fleet will be used to transport five million MT of clinker and other key materials with potential of over 1,17,000 tonnes of net annual CO₂ reduction, displacing the equivalent of 39 million litres of diesel per year.

Mumbai

UltraTech Cement Limited, an Aditya Birla Group company and the world’s largest cement company by sales volume and capacity outside China, has announced that it will scale up its electric vehicle fleet in its logistics operations to 600+ EV trucks by December 2026.

UltraTech has signed service contracts with leading EV prime mover manufacturers including Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, IPLTech, Energy in Motion and Sany, along with their subsidiaries and other third-party logistics providers, to deploy EV trucks.

The total fleet of 600+ EV trucks will transport about five million MT of clinker and other key materials per annum across Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Odisha. Once fully operational, this fleet of over 600 EV trucks will enable a net annual CO₂ reduction of more than 1,17,000 tonnes, displacing the equivalent of 39 million litres of diesel per year.

K C Jhanwar, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement Limited, said, “UltraTech is expanding sustainability beyond its plants by adopting greener logistics solutions. This large-scale transition to green logistics underscores our focus on decarbonising every link of our value chain and supports our commitment to achieving Net Zero.”

UltraTech has been a pioneer in advancing sustainable transport in the cement sector, being the first cement company to deploy heavy-duty electric trucks for long-haul transport of clinker and other materials at scale. The company was among the first in India to introduce green logistics, deploying CNG trucks in 2021 and electric trucks in 2024. UltraTech currently operates 850+ trucks as part of its green logistics operations, including CNG and electric trucks.

UltraTech, with a grey cement capacity of over 200 MTPA in India, operates one of the country’s most complex logistics networks. Its electrification strategy covers the entire supply chain—from mine-to-plant movement to inter-plant transport of clinker and other key materials.

The $ 10 billion UltraTech, the cement flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, has a total Grey Cement capacity of 205.5 MTPA and White Cement/Putty capacity of 3.2 MTPA. It is a signatory to the GCCA Climate Ambition 2050 and has committed to the Net Zero Concrete roadmap announced by GCCA.