The phase I and II of the plant, set up investing INR 400 crore, will boost its capabilities to serve customers across sectors including flexible packaging, automotive, agriculture and construction equipment, general industry and metals. The plant which will cater to the local and export markets employs 300 people. The phase III and IV will be launched later at an estimated cost of INR 400 crore.

“India is one of the most important emerging markets with tremendous growth opportunities for our adhesives business,” Jan-Dirk Auris, Member of the Management Board and Executive Vice President, Adhesive Technologies business unit, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, said. “We have application experts across manufacturing industries worldwide and work closely with our customers and partners. Our trusted brands and leading solutions based on our unmatched portfolio of 40 technologies create sustainable value for our customers. With the launch of this state-of-the-art, multi-technology manufacturing facility, we have created capacities to meet the demand for our high impact solutions in this dynamic market. This investment will enable us to further drive profitable growth,” he added.

Momentum in megatrends in the automotive sector will fuel demand for the company’s adhesive products, which help reduce vehicle’s weight. “Electric and connected vehicles need more adhesives than IC engine vehicles. We will continue to bring out products and solutions based on consumer demand and suitable for the new mobility, connectivity and sustainability,” Auris said.

The new plant is part of Henkel’s big bet on the emerging markets. Half of its total sales of USD 20 billion is from them. “India is the largest among the top 3 emerging markets. We believe tremendous demand will come from India for adhesives in the next decade. Henkel’s products are ‘invisible but essential’ and work as enablers for its consumers to improve efficiency and quality. Being a highly impactful solutions supplier, we also need to manage the risks,” he said.

Smart Factory

The Kurkumbh site is equipped with technologies to ensure traceability and transparency by ensuring built-in quality. End-to-end digitalisation of the plant operations has enabled digitised workflows; thus, making manufacturing more efficient. It deploys closed material handling systems and high level of process automation. For the first time, as a global pilot in Henkel, the site has implemented deep integration of process automation with Smart Factory (Industry 4.0).

 The site meets the highest standards of sustainability. It is among the very few chemical manufacturing sites to be awarded the LEED Gold Certificate by the US Green Building Council based on a holistic energy efficiency concept.  About 10 percent of its power consumption comes from captive solar energy and 16 percent of the annual water requirement is met by rainwater harvesting. Air and waste water discharges are monitored online.

Shilip Kumar, President, Henkel India, said, “We will continue to invest in local manufacturing as it gives our Adhesive Technologies business in India a strategic advantage. The Kurkumbh manufacturing site is a very important milestone of Henkel’s journey in India. This site will not only cater to the Indian market but also markets in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. As market leaders in this industry, our focus is to offer high impact solutions to our customers and convert latent market potential into profitable growth.”

Henkel Adhesive Technologies is a global leader in adhesives, sealants and functional coatings. The business unit serves around 130,000 customers in over 800 industrial areas with tailor-made products and technologies used in a wide array of consumer goods and industrial products. (MT)

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Wayve, NVIDIA and Stellantis have announced a joint collaboration alongside the French government at the Assises du Véhicule Autonome to support the deployment of autonomous vehicles in France and across the European Union.

The initiative combines Stellantis’ L4-Ready Platforms with the Wayve AI Driver system, integrating NVIDIA Halos OS on the NVIDIA Hyperion compute and sensor architecture. The collaboration aims to establish an autonomous vehicle value chain in France, spanning silicon development, software integration and vehicle manufacturing.

Local transport partners will engage with trade unions, municipal authorities, and mobility stakeholders to address regulatory alignment, safety requirements, and operational deployment.

Philippe Tabarot, French Minister of Transports, said, "I am pleased to see this collaboration between Wayve, NVIDIA and Stellantis launched at the Autonomous Vehicle Forum in France. France is committed to adapting its regulatory framework to accelerate the development of autonomous vehicles while maintaining strict safety and data sovereignty requirements. By bringing together trade unions, city authorities, and mobility stakeholders, this collaboration embodies the collaborative spirit of the Assises du Véhicule Autonome, as well as the approach required to transition from trials to real-world deployment."

Kaity Fischer, VP Autonomous Mobility & Operations, Wayve, said, "France is leading the way in preparing for autonomous vehicles, and we’re proud to enter this collaboration at such an important moment. By working directly with the French Government and our partners, we can help shape how this technology is deployed safely and responsibly and accelerate its development across the country and entire EU."

Anne Laliron, SVP of Technology Research, Stellantis, said, "This collaboration will help accelerate the delivery of autonomous driving technologies that make mobility safer and more convenient for customers. While its impact is global, France is one of Stellantis’ key centres for engineering and technology development, making it a natural home for advancing the future of AI-powered mobility."

Ali Kani, VP of Automotive, NVIDIA, said, "Bringing safe autonomous mobility to Europe requires deep collaboration across AI, computing and vehicle engineering. NVIDIA Hyperion platform, combined with Wayve’s embodied AI and Stellantis’ automotive expertise, provides a foundation for that ambition. Together with the French Government and local partners, we can help build an ecosystem that brings the benefits of autonomous driving to communities across France and Europe."

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German luxury carmaker Audi has introduced third-generation digital OLED rear lighting technology on the Q91, marking the production debut of three-dimensionally curved digital OLED panels in the automotive industry.

The lighting system incorporates carrier glass measuring 0.1 millimetres in thickness, allowing a bend radius of up to 200 millimetres to match the vehicle's body contours. The Q91 uses six digital OLED panels housing 512 individual segments, including an outer curved panel with 99 segments.

The curved positioning extends light visibility to wider lateral angles and incorporates warning symbols within the communication light system to alert surrounding traffic to breakdowns, emergency braking or accidents. Up to eight digital light signatures are available across static, active and semi-active display settings.

The vehicle also features digital Matrix LED headlights utilising a 13-millimetre micro-LED module containing 25,600 individual micro-LEDs. The headlight system projects high-resolution lane lighting, orientation paths and dynamic turn signal graphics directly onto the road surface to assist lane centring and indicate directional changes to pedestrians and other vehicles.

Audi first introduced OLED technology on the TT RS in 2016, followed by segmented digital OLEDs on the Q5 in 2020 and second-generation panels on the Q6 e-tron in 2024.

Stefan Berlitz, Head of Lighting Development at AUDI AG, said, "At Audi, light means safety first and foremost – seeing and being seen. Digitalisation opens up entirely new possibilities for further enhancing road safety. The curved digital OLED technology in the Audi Q91 impressively demonstrates this technology’s potential. It combines design freedom, personalization, and communication with the vehicle’s surroundings at a new level. Our vision is to gradually transform light into an intelligent means of communication that makes interaction between the vehicle and its surroundings even safer and more intuitive."

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European ride-hailing platform Bolt has selected the NVIDIA Alpamayo Stack autonomous driving software to operate its vehicle fleet in Europe, starting with Lucid automobiles.

The deployment commences in Madrid in 2027, with subsequent deployment planned in Germany and France. The initiative supports the integration of at least 25,000 Level 4-ready Lucid vehicles equipped with NVIDIA Hyperion compute and sensor architecture. The program contributes to Bolt's objective of deploying 100,000 autonomous vehicles across Europe and the UNECE region by 2035. The system integrates reasoning artificial intelligence with perception and planning modules alongside NVIDIA Halos safety controls.

Jevgeni Kabanov, President and Head of Autonomous Driving, Bolt, said, “Autonomous driving will change how people move around cities, and Europe should play a major role in how that future is built. Our ambition isn't to bring autonomous driving to just a handful of cities. We want to make autonomous ride-hailing available at scale across Europe, with 100,000 vehicles on our platform by 2035. We're bringing together some of the best technologies in the world to make that possible. Following our first autonomous mobility launch in Luxembourg, our next step with NVIDIA and Lucid is to begin a programme in Madrid in 2027. The Region of Madrid is pioneering a structured framework for commercial autonomous mobility in coordination with national authorities. Germany will also be a priority for what comes next, with cities already setting out clear ambitions for autonomous mobility.”

Rishi Dhall, Vice-President of Automotive, NVIDIA, said, “Robotaxis will scale when every vehicle is built on a common, safety-engineered foundation. NVIDIA Hyperion standardises the compute and sensor architecture across vehicle platforms, while NVIDIA Alpamayo Stack and Halos provide the driving intelligence and safety foundation. Bolt’s European platform, operational experience and work with cities and regulators make it a strong partner to bring autonomous ride-hailing to market at scale in Europe.”

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French tier 1 supplier Valeo has announced plans to develop and industrialise high-performance compute platforms utilising the NVIDIA Hyperion reference architecture and NVIDIA Halos safety system.

The initiative combines Valeo's vehicle integration capabilities with centralised computing architectures to support software-defined mobility systems. The platform utilises the NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor architecture to deliver processing performance and redundancy for Level 4 autonomous driving, commercial trucking and robotaxi applications. The development framework enables automakers to integrate features and deploy autonomous technologies across vehicle models.

Marc Vrecko, Chief Executive Officer, Valeo Brain Division, said, "Our work with NVIDIA marks a significant milestone in our mission to make autonomous driving a safe, scalable reality. By seamlessly integrating NVIDIA’s advanced compute power into our next-generation platforms, we are delivering the flexible, centralised intelligence vehicle manufacturers require to redefine the driving experience and meet the evolving demands of tomorrow’s intelligent vehicles."

Rishi Dhall, Vice-President of Automotive, NVIDIA, said, "Valeo’s expertise in high-performance computing, vehicle integration and automotive-scale industrialisation will help automakers adopt NVIDIA Hyperion and NVIDIA Halos at production scale. Together, NVIDIA and Valeo are providing the AI performance, functional safety and scalability needed to accelerate the development of Level 4 autonomous vehicles and robotaxis."

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