Sweden showcase at CII Energy Efficiency Summit

Three men at a table, discussing. Photo.The India Sweden Innovations’ Accelerator opened its third tour of India in Hyderabad, with nine Swedish innovation companies ready to participate in India’s high growth economy.

The India Sweden Innovations’ Accelerator programme, on its third physical engagement in India, conducted business to business meetings on the sidelines of the 13th edition of Energy Efficiency Summit, International Conference & Exposition on Energy Efficiency organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) – Godrej Green Business Centre (GBC) in Hyderabad on October 29.

The event witnessed the participation of nine Swedish companies in the field of waste to energy, renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean transport for industrial and commercial applications. The business meetings were conducted with an aim to find possible manufacturing and distribution partners for the clean energy products in India.

The India Sweden Innovations’ Accelerator, sponsored by the Swedish Energy Agency, has partnered with Business Sweden and CII – Godrej GBC for facilitating India Sweden partnerships. The Accelerator focuses on the business of renewable energy and energy efficiency and looks at developing partnerships through virtual meeting rooms, webinars, and online discussion forums.

“Our partnership with CII helps identifying potential business partners. We organize webinars and discussion forums along with CII as a precursor to the business meetings in Indian cities so that Swedish companies can have an understanding of the needs of their prospective clients.” says Ludvig Lindström, Country Manager India, Swedish Energy Agency. “India and Sweden share a common objective on the needs for new innovations for a more sustainable society. The programme was conceptualised in 2009, when the Indian National Innovation Council visited Sweden. While the Indian government wanted to see Swedish innovations being introduced to the Indian market, we are looking at business partners to bridge the gaps in the renewable energy market in the country.’’

According to Lindström, the response from the Indian market was very good. Each of the nine Swedish participant companies have 10-11 meetings on an average with prospective Indian clients, that range from large international players to smaller actors looking to create sustainable business profiles.

Swedish entrepreneurs were also upbeat on the Indian market prospectus. While some wanted to be part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, others were looking at opportunities associated with the country’s high ‘growth economy’.

Kristina Linhardt, CEO, HiNation, a company offering rugged products for portable energy, said, her company wanted India to be the manufacturing base for its African market. “We sell our products in Africa and I’m here to search for a manufacturing partner. With the new initiative announced by the Indian government, I believe we will soon be able to find a partner. We also look at India as a market for our products. I had visited Jharkhand last year. Considering that 300 million people in India live without electricity, there is immense scope for our products. Make in India is a great programme and it will surely help companies who are looking for manufacturing partnerships in India,’’ she says.

Unlike other companies, which are trying for possible business partnership to penetrate the Indian market, Mimer is a company that set up a subsidiary in India two years ago. The company’s cooling solutions are not only focused on India but the entire venture also came into existence after Georg Svensson, the company’s CEO realized the high demand India’s market is going to witness for geothermal solutions due to the country’s high GDP growth, during one of his visits to the country in 2007.

“Our business model is unique. Other companies are looking at partners to market or manufacture their products. We follow a demand driven business model. We set up this company in 2009 to purely cater to the needs of the Indian market. In that way, we sense the demand first and then design the products/solutions around it so that we can explore the Indian market. We want to be part of India’ growth story’’ he says.

Klas Berglöf, Managing Director, ClimaCheck offers performance analyzing of refrigeration, air-conditioning and heat pumps. Berglöf also feels Indian market is set to witness a huge growth for sustainable energy solutions. “There is an increased awareness in the market on the use of energy efficient refrigeration and air-conditioning solutions. This will help companies like us,’’ he says.

While Sweden and Indian may not be comparable markets in terms of size and business practices, what unites them is the commitment to invest in sustainable energy needs and building a profitable business model around it.

“Our effort was to offer a platform for Indian Swedish businesses to explore and understand each other. The response far exceeds our expectations. Ultimately, we believe these match-making sessions will lead to possible partnerships and later on to profitable businesses. We have seen great enthusiasm and interest among Indian businesses to adopt the innovative solutions offered by Swedish energy companies. It also help a country like ours to build sustainable business models,’’ says Dinesh Ghai, Senior Counsellor, CII- Godrej GBC.