Why in news?

Hitachi Energy, a technology player that offers advanced solutions for a sustainable energy future globally, set up a new facility to manufacture power quality products (devices that test and check the quality of power) at Doddaballapur on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

Highlights:

• The Indian arm of the Switzerland-based Hitachi Energy has invested ₹100 crore to set up this new facility that has a production capacity of 20,000 units of advanced capacitors, banks and power electronics compensators for low, medium and high-voltage systems that are used in power utilities, industries, renewables and transportation segments.
• Manufacturing of electrical equipment was an energy-intensive process. Keeping sustainability goals in mind, Hitachi adopted innovative processes at this factory that were capable of reducing electrical energy consumption per process step by almost 40%.

The need:

• According to the International Energy Agency, the energy demand in India is set to double over the next 20 years driven by urbanization and industrialization.

Why Karnataka?

• Karnataka was fuelling its ambitions of industrial growth through a prism of sustainable development goals.
• Karnataka is a leading contributor to India’s industrial ambitions. With long-term committed partners such as Hitachi Energy, it continues to invest to make the state a global manufacturing hub.

About Hitachi

• Hitachi Energy employs around 38,000 people in 90 countries and generates annual business to the tune of $10 billion. The company, which forayed into India in 1962, claims it has one of its widest manufacturing bases.