Volvo Group, Ericsson And Airtel India Join Forces To Explore Potential Of XR, Digital Twin and AI For Manufacturing

Volvo - Ericsson - Airtel

Volvo Group in India, Ericsson and Bharti Airtel have come together to explore the potential of Extended Reality (XR), digital twin technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) in the manufacturing sector. The partnership aims to leverage 5G and 5G Advanced to transform industrial operations, improve workforce training and real-time process optimisation.

As per the understanding, the research will be conducted at the Volvo Group Factory and Volvo Group’s R&D Centre in Bengaluru. The facilities will explore industrial Metaverse applications including human and machine interaction and collaboration, which means a blend of physical and digital worlds. The idea is to enhance efficiency, foster innovation in manufacturing and real-time optimisation using AI technologies.

The partnership will leverage high-speed 5G network to test ‘what if’ scenarios and improve production workflow. They will also explore potential new revenue streams and business models for the telcos.

Kamal Bali, President & MD, Volvo Group India, said, “Our industry is undergoing a once in a lifetime transformation driven by the emerging trends across automation, connectivity and alternative energy carriers – tools which will be key in our ambitions to be net zero and shape a sustainable future for all. This transformation also includes the way we work and collaborate across our industrial and R&D sites. 5G, coupled with extended reality applications, will help foster innovation as well as collaboration between our sites and engineers, in real-time, through the power of connectivity & digitalization backed by advanced AI technologies.”

Sharat Sinha, Director & CEO, Airtel Business, said, “We are thrilled to leverage the capabilities of our advanced 5G network for innovative industrial applications in partnership with Ericsson and Volvo Group. Through this collaboration, our high-speed, low latency 5G network will redefine and transform the manufacturing sector by enabling real-time XR applications for enhanced productivity and efficiencies, unlocking new revenue streams and accelerating the adoption of Industry 4.0 applications.”

Nitin Bansal, Managing Director, Ericsson India, said, "As India embraces Industry 4.0, 5G will be a game-changer towards enabling intelligent, connected, and immersive industrial experiences. This collaboration with Airtel and Volvo Group underscores Ericsson’s commitment to driving innovation through 5G and extended reality. By combining our expertise in network technology with cutting-edge XR applications, we are creating an ecosystem that will help industries to transform manufacturing. The research insights will be instrumental in shaping the future of industrial digitalization, not just in India but globally."

 

Greaves Cotton Engines Power European Micromobility With Ligier Partnership

Greaves - Ligier

Greaves Cotton, an engineering firm, has partnered with Europe’s Ligier Group, a manufacturer of light and heavy quadricycles. The collaboration will see Greaves’ Euro V+ certified 499cc REVO D+ diesel engines powering Ligier’s JS50 and Myli microcar models.

The engines, designed and manufactured at Greaves' facility in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, India, are integrated into Ligier vehicles sold across multiple European countries, including France, Italy, Spain and Germany. This partnership highlights India's increasing role as a supplier of regulatory-compliant automotive technologies globally.

The 499cc REVO D+ single-cylinder, 4-stroke diesel engine features electronic fuel injection and is designed for the light quadricycle, L6e category of vehicles.

The engine produces 6.0 kW of power at 3000 rpm and 26 Nm of torque at 1800–2200 rpm. The engine is claimed to deliver superior fuel efficiency, exceptional Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH) performance, and low friction. The engines met the stringent Euro V+ compliance norms through rigorous European-grade quality assurance, including cold-weather validation and lifecycle reliability assessments.

Parag Satpute, Managing Director and Group CEO, Greaves Cotton, said, “This partnership with Ligier is a proud milestone for Greaves Cotton, showcasing how a Made-in-India powertrain is driving European mobility solutions. It reflects our strong engineering capabilities, customer-centric approach, and commitment to delivering global quality standards from our Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar plant. As a trusted partner to OEMs worldwide, we continue to strengthen our comprehensive solutions driven approach that meet the demands of global OEMs for highest standards of performance, efficiency, and sustainability.”

Christian Dujardin, CEO, Ligier Group, said, “Our partnership with Greaves has been marked by outstanding collaboration and mutual trust. Together, we have succeeded in bringing to market the new 499cc REVO D+ engine - a modern, efficient, and reliable powertrain that perfectly meets today’s market expectations, regulatory standards, and customer demands. We are proud of the quality and fluidity of our exchanges throughout this project, which have allowed us to combine innovation and performance. Our teams continue to work hand in hand on future developments to stay one step ahead of the competition and uphold Ligier’s promise of always being at the forefront of innovation.”

Vedanta Aluminium Secures Patent For Lead-Free Alloy

Vedanta Aluminium

Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, has achieved another milestone with the grant of its first product development patent for a lead- and tin-free bismuth-aluminium alloy. This innovation offers a sustainable, high-machinability solution designed to address the global phaseout of hazardous elements like lead and tin in industrial applications.

The alloy, developed by Vedanta Aluminium’s in-house R&D team, replaces lead and tin with bismuth. The company states that the alloy meets global environmental standards while delivering machinability and mechanical strength.

The alloy is engineered for components across the automotive, electronics and textile sectors where machining operations are central to production. Applications include automotive parts such as hydraulic manifolds and drive shafts and electronic components like mobile phone housings.

The innovation was driven by customer demand for sustainable alternatives to traditional machinable alloys (like AA6262 and AA6020) that contain restricted elements. These alloys are currently under regulatory scrutiny.

Lab trials of the new alloy demonstrated performance metrics compared to conventional grades:

  • Strength and Durability: 8 percent higher tensile strength, 21 percent higher yield strength and 17 percent greater hardness.
  • Machinability: Smaller, easily breakable chip formation enhances cutting efficiency and reduces operational time.
  • Tool Life and Surface Finish: Up to 30 percent smoother surface finish and extended tool lifespan.

Rajiv Kumar, CEO, Vedanta Aluminium, said, “Innovation and sustainability are at the heart of Vedanta Aluminium’s R&D efforts, driving us to create solutions that advance our environmental goals while delivering world-class breakthrough products. This patent validates our efforts at pushing the boundaries of material science, while embedding sustainability into every stage of our value chain. The bismuth-aluminium alloy represents the future of responsible manufacturing.”

Image for representational purposes only.

Greaves Cotton Reports INR 6.32 Million Net Profit For Q2 FY2026

Greaves Cotton

Mumbai-headquartered engineering major Greaves Cotton has reported its financial results for Q2 FY2026 with revenue of INR 8.15 billion, up 16 percent YoY, as compared to INR 7.05 billion last year.

The profit after tax grew by 140 percent YoY to INR 6.32 million, as against a loss of INR 14.33 million, showing improved profitability across its businesses.

The company reported that its Engineering Business grew 31 percent YoY in Q2 FY2026 and 30 percent YoY in H1 FY2026.  The Automotive business grew by 48 percent YoY, driven by demand for Euro V+ compliant diesel engines from its European automotive OEM partnership.

Parag Satpute, MD and Group CEO, Greaves Cotton, said, “Greaves Cotton’s performance in Q2 FY2026 reflects the continued strength, agility and resilience of our business portfolio. Our core Engineering business has achieved strong growth. This has been driven by our customer-centric approach of developing products in close partnership with our customers, improved profitability, & is supported by efficiency enhancements that have strengthened our margins. We remain steadfast in our focus on disciplined execution, operational excellence and prudent capital allocation to drive sustainable value creation. Greaves continues to make a meaningful impact across Genset Solutions, Automotive and Industrial sectors through its diverse engineering portfolio, positioning us as a reliable partner in the application engineering space.”

Hyundai Motor Group Partners Nvidia To Deploy AI In Korean Factory

Nvidia - Hyundai

Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia are deepening their collaboration to accelerate innovation in autonomous vehicles (AVs), smart factories and robotics with a new AI factory, powered by Nvidia Blackwell AI infrastructure. This partnership shifts focus from strategic software adoption to the co-development of core physical AI technologies.

The two companies plan to enable integrated AI model training, validation and deployment using 50,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs. In support of the Korean government’s initiative to build a national physical AI cluster, the collaboration involves an approximately USD 3 billion investment to advance the physical AI landscape in Korea. Key efforts include establishing Hyundai Motor Group’s Physical AI Application Center, the Nvidia AI Technology Center and physical AI data centres in the region.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on 31st October between the Ministry of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea, Hyundai Motor Group and Nvidia to formalise this collaboration.

Bae Kyung-hoon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT of the Republic of Korea, said, "For Korea to leap forward as a leading nation in AI, the advancement of physical AI is essential – a key initiative championed by the Ministry of Science and ICT. This inaugural step in public-private collaboration to foster physical AI is therefore incredibly significant. Korea has a strong foundation in manufacturing. By combining Korea's rich manufacturing data with Nvidia’s cutting-edge AI infrastructure, we expect to build a Win-Win model through collaboration with domestic companies, thereby accelerating innovative AI transformation (AX) in manufacturing across industries."

Euisun Chung, Executive Chair, Hyundai Motor Group, said, “As we enter a new era of AI-powered mobility and smart factory, deepening our collaboration with Nvidia marks a pivotal step forward. Together, we are not only building advanced technologies but also laying the foundation for a robust AI ecosystem in Korea – one that fosters innovation, nurtures talent and positions us at the forefront of global AI leadership.”

Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO, Nvidia, said, "AI will revolutionise every facet of every industry. In transportation alone – from vehicle design and manufacturing to robotics and autonomous driving — Nvidia’s AI and computing platforms are transforming how the world moves. Together with Hyundai Motor Group — Korea’s industrial powerhouse and one of the world’s top mobility solutions providers— we’re building intelligent cars and factories that will shape the future of the multitrillion-dollar mobility industry."

Hyundai Motor Group will use the Nvidia Blackwell-based AI factory to deploy infrastructure that powers innovation across in-vehicle AI, autonomous driving, factory automation and robotics. The group is leveraging three Nvidia AI compute platforms:

  • Nvidia DGX platform for large-scale AI model training.
  • Nvidia Omniverse and Nvidia Cosmos for creating digital twins of manufacturing environments and testing AV software.
  • Nvidia Drive AGX Thor as the AI compute for real-time intelligence in vehicles and robots.

The company will use the Omniverse Enterprise platform to develop factory digital twins to accelerate robot integration, optimise production and enable predictive maintenance. Inside vehicles, Nvidia DRIVE AGX Thor will provide compute power for advanced driver-assistance, next-generation safety features and in-vehicle AI experiences.