Finnish ‘clean tech’ firms look for joint venture in India
By IANSThursday, February 3, 2011
NEW DELHI - Several Finnish companies are keen to form joint ventures with Indian firms to expand their operations in the country and promote the use of clean technology, the Nordic nation’s Environment Minister Paula Lehtomaki said Thursday.
“Finnish companies are looking for partners in India. Some of them have already started their businesses with local partners. Many more are looking for partners to explore the possibility of further investment,” the minister said.
“Finland is a leader in green technologies. We have right technology and know-how and are keen to share it with India,” Lehtomaki told IANS an event organised by Cleantech Finland here on the sidelines of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit here.
She said Finnish and Indian government had pledged to work together to promote the use of environment friendly technologies and a key focus of such cooperation will be in renewable energy and water management.
“The global challenges we are facing today can be turned into opportunities with the right technologies and know-how. What is needed is enhanced cooperation and sharing of knowledge,” the minister said, adding green economy will be the focus of the future.
“Green economy is essentially about integrating environmental aspects into all sectors of the society — and simultaneously boosting economic growth by creating new green jobs.”
Leading Finnish companies including The Switch, Kemira, Metso, Picosun and Ruukki — here at the aegis of Cleantech Finland — are keen to expand their operation in India through joint ventures in clean technology: Following are their initiatives:
Kemira Oyj: This company has a joint venture with Hyderabad-based water infrastructure firm IVRCL for water treatment. It started in India in 2008 and invested nearly $10 million thus far, with plans to scale it up manifold in the near future.
The firm is involved in desalination, potable water and waste water management projects. Officials said the company will soon set up a manufacturing base in India as well, and combine their know-how with $1.5 billion IVRCL’s expertise in water infrastructure.
The Switch: This company, which supplies wind power and new energy applications, started business in India last year. The company plans to invest $50-$100 million in India in a couple of years and is looking at partners for a joint venture.
Metso: This company has entered into a pact with Aditya Birla Group’s Grasim Industries to supply recovery boilers by 2012. The boilers to replace the two ones at the company’s rayon grade pulp mill at Kumarapatnam in Karnataka.
Picosun Oy: This company is a manufacturer of state-of-the-art atomic layer deposition system, which help in depositing ultra-thin films on surfaces. These are used in solar and atomic energy plants. The company is also looking for Indian partners.
