Green tech space in India may reach $45-55 bn by 2027

Despite growing interest and demand by companies, green tech in India is still at a nascent stage. Green tech is estimated to reach a $45-55 billion market by 2027 and the industry will require greater innovation and investment to support this tremendous growth. Tech companies must focus on building a strong portfolio of sustainability products, by identifying priority use cases for its clients, to capture this opportunity and disrupt the market. At least that's what a recent study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) suggested. Now what is this Green Tech? 'Green technology' refers to environment friendly or clean technology, as well as products and innovative devices used in environmental science, green chemistry, monitoring, promoting sustainability and conserving the environment. Technologies that might not traditionally be considered to be 'green' can become so when combined with other technologies and this is where collaboration can come into its own.

Just to give an example, high oil prices are the main driving force behind the rocketing inflation. For long, countries across the globe have been working to switch to alternative fuel - which is also environmentally friendly. Green Hydrogen is one of them, and fits the bill. And a lot is happening on this front in India too. The Indian government had launched a green hydrogen policy in February this year. And corporate biggies like Reliance, Larsen & Tourbo and Adani have announced projects worth Rs 6 trillion in this area.

Looking at globally, the green-tech growth is being driven by the increasing adoption of sustainable use-cases across IoT (Internet of Things), cloud computing, data platforms & analytics, digital twin, and blockchain, indicating clear positive signs of a vast opportunity of $45-55 billion every year, which is expected to grow at 25-30 per cent annually over the next five years.

It is essential that both the public and private sectors work together to drive through the innovation to achieve the net zero goals set by governments and companies around the world.

Fortunately, green-tech investments have increased from $5 billion in cumulative investments in 2016 to $10 billion in cumulative investments in 2021. For green-tech investors, IoT, analytics and cloud computing are the favourites, with each technology accounting for more than $3 billion in investments respectively. While the bulk of this growth is expected in developed economies in North America and Europe, Asia, including India is also expected to grow rapidly. These are the countries who have committed to net-zero targets.

Mind you that net zero is not just a regulatory or legal goal, it is a goal to stay up to date and relatable. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated collaborative working practices, in particular in the medtech and pharma fields, increasing sharing and open access amongst competitors and supply chains, and this model is being applied in climate change too.

There is no doubt that collaboration on green technology may involve a significant amount of planning, agreements and compliance issues. While this entire thing may be a lengthy process, it is also certain that the rewards from a successful partnership can be significant in an arena which is only going to grow.