BHEL achieves Rs.9,420 Million Turnover through products developed in-house.

Through commercialization of products and systems developed by way of in-house research and development efforts, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has achieved a turnover of Rs.9,420 Million - nearly 10% of the company's total turnover for 2004-05. This has been achieved on account 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 efforts.

New products and systems developed during the year for various infrastructure sectors of the economy, like power generation, transmission and industry, include India's first indigenously developed Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitors for improving power flow and system stability in 400 kV transmission systems, a Bowl Mill of 91 TPH capacity for pulverizing coal in thermal power stations, the largest size Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustion Boiler and a 260 MW steam turbine designed to suit Combined Cycle Power Plants.

One of the significant achievements during the year was the establishment of World-class Centres of Excellence for Computational Fluid Dynamics and Permanent Magnet Machines, creating an enabling environment in crucial technology areas.

For the first time in the country, BHEL has indigenously designed, manufactured and commissioned a Bowl Mill of 91 TPH capacity, used for pulverizing coal in thermal power stations, at MSEB’s 500 MW Chandrapur site. The optimized capacity will result in reducing the number of mills required for thermal power stations.

BHEL has also developed in-house, the largest size 60 MW Bubbling Fluidized Bed Combustion Boiler against the maximum size of 40 MW, being supplied so far. A vast potential of replacement of old pulverized fuel boilers of 60 MW rating with these new Boilers exists, which can regain the original generating capacity even with poor coal quality. This development has opened a new line of business for the company.

During the year, the company spent about Rs.1150 Million on R&D, which was the highest among comparable industries in India. The focus of BHEL's R&D programmes is on areas like state-of-the-art control & instrumentation systems; clean coal technologies; non-conventional energy systems; improved transmission and distribution products and systems; high efficiency, silt resistant hydro turbines and improved transportation systems.