BHEL achieves turnover of Rs54.05bn

During fiscal 2008-09, out of its total turnover of Rs275.05bn, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has achieved a record turnover of Rs54.05bn – nearly 20% of the total turnover, through commercialisation of products and systems developed by way of in-house Research and Development efforts. This is the result of a constant thrust on developing new technologies and products, besides improving existing products and systems in terms of reliability, cost and quality through in-house R&D initiatives. Significantly, during the year, BHEL spent over Rs6.5bn on R&D efforts - 40% more than the previous year. In fact, the R&D spend at 2.36% of the turnover, is among the highest in India for its kind of industry. A notable achievement of fiscal 2008-09 has been the significant growth in Intellectual Capital with around one Patent/Copyright filed every alternate working day. BHEL filed 202 patents and copyrights during the year, enhancing the company’s intellectual capital to 857 patents and copyrights filed, which are in productive use in the company’s business. New products and systems developed during the year for various infrastructure sectors of the economy include, the first of its kind in the world 320kN/420kN HVDC Porcelain Insulators, India’s first 800 kV Hollow Insulators; a compact, economical and more efficient combined HP-IP module for 2-cylinder turbines to cover the range of 500-650 MW TG sets and a compact 2.4 TPD RO-based desalination plant skid (water filtration system suitable for sea water) for Indian Navy submarines, among others. Extending the range of exciters for meeting customer requirements, a more-reliable Brushless Exciter with Permanent Magnet Generator has been developed and manufactured for 250 MW Turbo Generators. The new exciter offers benefits like reduced manufacturing cycle time, better dynamic behaviour and more-efficient site operation. A patent has already been granted for the development and usage can be extended for a wide range of sets (210-800 MW) in future. In addition, as part of its endeavour to establish technology for the entire spectrum of products for supercritical power plants, BHEL has designed and developed a Deaerator for 1,000 MW power plants. This in-house development will not only address the emerging need for supercritical equipment but also result in substantial savings by eliminating the need for a technology tie-up with an international player. R&D and technology development are of strategic importance to the company as it operates in a competitive environment where technology is a major factor. BHEL's R&D programme focuses on areas like state-of-the-art control & instrumentation systems; clean-coal technologies; improved T&D products/systems; high-efficiency silt-resistant hydro turbines and improved transportation systems, etc.