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2012-10-05
A newly established organization will help Swedish cleantech companies to succeed in India. “The need for new solutions is tremendous in the energy sector”, says S Raghupathy, Executive Director of Confederation of Indian Industry, CII at a meeting with Johan Sandberg and Joakim Byström from Absolicon.
Absolicon Solar Collector is one of four Swedish companies that joined the Indo-Swedish innovation platform. The organization is financed by the Swedish Energy Agency and will connect Swedish cleantech companies with Indian companies, primarily in the industrial sector.
Absolicon is planning to set up a manufacturing facility in India and has already installed a demo of an Indian hospital. The plant produces heat, electricity and steam.
“Concentrated solar energy can provide the Indian industry with the ability to self-produce the energy they need, instead of buying oil and gas,” says Johan Sandberg, CEO of Absolicon.
The energy supply and dependence on fossil fuels is one of the main hinders to an even stronger economic growth in India, and there is growing awareness and governmental programmes that favour promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Solar energy is one of the most politically prioritised areas in India, which among other measures launched a specific programme for solar thermal projects. Technology adaptation is a crucial element of a successful market entry in a foreign country, especially when the economic and social climates differ so much as in Sweden and India.
The official launch of the Indo-Swedish Innovation Platform took place during the Energy Efficiency Summit in Hyderabad on 24th of August, where a memorandum of Understanding has been signed with the Indian partners, Confederation of Indian Industry, CII.
CII is a nation-wide and highly respected industry association present in all Indian regions. It is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry led and industry managed organisation that works through partnering industry and government to create a greener growth in India. The closest partner of the Innovation Platform is the Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre in Hyderabad The Centre is an institution of national scale, setting standards and promoting best practice in environmental technologies in industry and buildings, setting among others an Indian certification standard for Green Buildings.
The Innovation Platform is targeted at Swedish cleantech SMEs at early to growth stages, having a proven technology yet willingness to adapt to new markets and a global growth ambition. Common for Swedish innovation companies is that often the home market is not large enough, and therefore they have to start exporting and enter foreign markets much earlier. This is where a combination of governmental support and local business expertise will help companies find the right partners in India and see them through the first steps.
With an established partnership and a demonstration project already in place, Absolicon has all the opportunities to build up a strong business case for the Indian market. The role of the Innovation Platform will be to help identifying the right access points to the target market and support Absolicon with the fine-tuning their product offering to local conditions. These questions lie within the core competence of the CII Green Business Centre.
