US-based CTC Global Corporation has developed and owns the rights to the highly efficient ACCC® (aluminium conductor composite core) technology. CTC Global has rapidly expanded its footprint in India, having supplied over 15,000 km of ACCC® Conductor to over 30 customers, including 21 state government-owned utilities, so far. In this exclusive interview, we have Hitesh Mundhada, VP – South Asia, CTC Global Corporation and Dave Bryant, Director – Technology, CTC Global Corporation, speaking on the growing presence of ACCC® Conductor globally, which amply reflects the world’s growing consciousness towards issues like energy efficiency and mitigation of carbon footprint. An interview by Venugopal Pillai.
Let us start by understanding the cumulative achievement of CTC Global in terms of quantum of ckm of ACCC® Conductor supplied, and the number of countries touched upon.
Since its commercial introduction in 2005, CTC Global through its authorized manufacturing partners (AMP) has shipped well over 100,000 km of ACCC® Conductor to over 1,000 project sites in 60 countries. Besides world’s leading economies, CTC Global is proud to partner with several countries like Bangladesh, which is one of the world’s fastest growing economies; Bhutan, which is the only carbon-negative country in the world; and many others. These are just a few examples, nearly 100 more projects are slated to start within the next six months, worldwide.
What impact did the COVID-19 pandemic have on CTC Global’s operations? Nevertheless, what were the performance highlights of 2020, and 2021 so far?
With that said, we achieved several successes over the last two years. Our AMPs are about to win two 400kV transmission projects with ACCC® Conductor linked to one of the mega cities of India. Through our AMP partner, Bhutan completed its first two ACCC Conductor installations in the last few months. While a few projects were slightly delayed, we still had and have roughly 50 installations underway at any given time.
“We are pleased to announce that thus far around 15,000 km of ACCC® Conductor has been selected by nearly 30 customers in India.”
We understand that China is the only country outside USA, where ACCC® Conductor is manufactured. Is ACCC Conductor manufactured in China consumed locally, or it is also exported to other countries?
Apart from USA and China, we do have a facility in Indonesia. At this point, primarily, the entire product produced in China and Indonesia is used within those countries, but the technology, manufacturing process and quality is equivalent.
“CTC is very proud to be working with our AMPs and looking at even brighter shared future in India.”
In India, what is the cumulative achievement, in terms of quantum of ACCC® Conductor installed and the number of utilities served?
We are pleased to announce that thus far around 15,000 km of ACCC® Conductor has been selected by nearly 30 customers in India, which includes 21 state transmission utilities, for upgradation of their transmission network ranging from 22kV to 400kV.
CTC Global, as we understand, has three stranding partners in India–Sterlite Power, Apar and Gupta Power. Are there plans to induct more in the foreseeable future?
There’s always a scope for expanding this network provided common objectives are realized through such partnership. In the last decade, our current authorized manufacturing partners have ensured ACCC® Conductor deployments are expanded to 23 states of India spanning 180+ projects. CTC is very proud to be working with our AMPs and looking at even brighter shared future in India.
We appreciate that Indian EPC contractors have been involved in ACCC stranding projects in Asian and African countries. Tell us more.
CTC Global and its AMPs partnered with many top EPCs from India who are active internationally. We are currently working with L&T, KEC International, Kalpataru Power Transmission, Transrail Lighting and few others for projects in Nepal and Bangladesh. These projects are in range of 132-400kV.
“Indian EPCs are undisputed world leaders in power transmission and CTC Global highly appreciates their ability and commitment especially when it comes to executing complex projects with ACCC® Conductor.”
Back to India, how do you assess the overall inclination of state government utilities as opposed to private utilities to adopt energy-efficient solutions like ACCC® Conductor?
State utilities have been proactive in adopting energy efficiency aspect in their bidding. In order to ensure selection of the most efficient conductor, utilities are specifying Ohmic Loss Evaluation condition in their tenders. Private utilities are also not far behind. For instance, in last decade or so, Torrent Power has upgraded a substantial part of its network with ACCC® Conductor in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
In particular, how has the progress been in Delhi, where CTC Global expects one-third of Delhi Transco’s 860-ckm network to be equipped with ACCC® Conductor?
Since then, DTL upgraded 214 ckm of their 220kV lines i.e. more than 30 per cent of their overhead EHV network with ACCC® Conductor thereby improving the capacity, efficiency, and reliability of their network. DTL’s timely intervention to upgrade its network with efficient conductors is nothing short of an awesome achievement. This is inspiring transmission utilities around the globe to build more robust, resilient, and efficient transmission networks to help meet the energy requirements of bustling cities like Delhi.
Tell us how the newly-launched ACCC InfoCore™ System has made installations more efficient, in terms of cost and time.
While the use of the InfoCore System is not mandatory for every project, it can help ensure that the installation was completed successfully. This is an important step forward and is also serving as a foundation for more technical advancements to help build a more robust, reliable, and resilient grid — at virtually no cost to our utility customers or the general public.
The first full-scale commercial deployment of the ACCC InfoCore™ System was completed for Elia, on the upgrade of a 150kV line near Mons, Belgium to serve an important new data centre. So far, there have been about two dozen more InfoCore™ deployments including another major project with Elia.
Let us close by understanding CTC Global’s outlook and plans for India.
The outlook for India remains bullish. Government’s ambitious yet fully achievable target of adding 450 GW of renewable power by 2030 would require systematic upgradation and strengthening of transmission network. India is also leading efforts for South Asia regional grid which also is likely to add to the growth of transmission business in India. Riding on this CTC’s sees itself as a key player in helping utilities establish an efficient and high-capacity transmission network.
