As India accelerates investments in LNG infrastructure, cryogenic technologies and clean-energy solutions, new opportunities are emerging across transportation, industrial gases, data centres and decentralised water systems. At the same time, localisation, energy security and commercial viability remain central to scaling these technologies.
In an interaction with BW Businessworld, Deepak Acharya, CEO, INOX India, and Ulf Stenerhag, CEO, Wayout International, discuss the outlook for India's LNG ecosystem, the future of cryogenic technology, hydrogen, industrial gases and semiconductor applications, as well as their partnership to bring decentralised water purification technology to India and the business case for scaling sustainable infrastructure.
The recent tensions in West Asia have highlighted India's dependence on imported LNG and vulnerable shipping routes. Beyond geopolitics, what is holding back faster expansion of India's LNG and cryogenic infrastructure today?
Acharya: LNG adoption has been slower than expected in India due to several factors. On the automotive side, the biggest challenge has been the lack of fuelling infrastructure. We had expected nearly 1,000 LNG fuelling stations to come up within three to five years, but after almost three years, only around 60 stations are operational. Truck manufacturers were also initially unconvinced about LNG as a long-term fuel. There has been a classic chicken-and-egg situation, where transport operators waited for fuelling stations while investors waited for more LNG vehicles. That is gradually changing. Manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and Volvo have started producing LNG-powered trucks and buses, while around 60 fuelling stations now provide coverage at intervals of roughly 400 km.
LNG also offers a 15-20 per cent cost advantage over diesel, besides being a cleaner fuel. Although recent geopolitical developments have created some supply concerns, India continues to receive LNG from countries including Australia, the US and Oman. Earlier, receiving terminal capacity was a constraint, but with six to seven operational LNG terminals today, availability is no longer the primary challenge. The remaining bottleneck lies in LNG distribution technology. Unlike petrol or diesel, LNG is cryogenic, making fuelling infrastructure more complex. Those initial technical challenges are largely getting resolved. Companies such as Blue Energy already have 15-20 LNG trucks operating, and confidence across the ecosystem is improving.
Beyond road transport, marine applications are emerging rapidly. Most new ships being built in India are designed to operate on dual fuel, typically diesel and LNG. We recently received an order from Cochin Shipyard in this space, and nearly 60 vessels have already been converted or built with LNG capability. Cryogenic technology is also finding applications in distributed power generation. We have demonstrated LNG-based power generation projects in Scotland, Antigua and now the Bahamas, where we are supplying equipment for a 60 MW LNG-based power station. Such projects help reduce carbon emissions while ensuring reliable energy supply, particularly for island economies.
India is targeting 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030. Where do you see cryogenic technology creating the biggest value in India's energy transition, and what is preventing wider deployment today?
Acharya: One of the biggest opportunities is powering data centres. These facilities require uninterrupted electricity and large quantities of water, and many are being set up in locations where both resources are constrained. We see LNG-based captive power generation becoming an important solution. INOX India already has the products required for LNG storage, distribution and regasification, which can be integrated with gas turbines to create dedicated 100 MW or 200 MW power plants for data centres. This allows operators to receive uninterrupted power without depending entirely on the grid. The products required for such projects are fundamentally similar to the LNG-based power systems we are already supplying internationally, such as the 60 MW project in the Bahamas. The only difference is larger storage capacities and gasification systems to meet higher power requirements.
Is INOX India using AI in these projects?
Acharya: We are not using AI extensively in our core operations yet. We use AI-based tools in areas such as marketing and are exploring applications in manufacturing, but ours remains a highly labour-intensive business where many activities cannot realistically be replaced by AI. Skilled workers such as welders, fitters and plumbers remain critical to our manufacturing process, and those capabilities cannot simply be substituted through artificial intelligence.
Beyond LNG, INOX India is expanding into hydrogen, industrial gases and clean energy applications. Which of these businesses has the greatest long-term potential, and which is currently the hardest to commercialise?
Acharya: All three sectors—industrial gases, LNG and hydrogen—offer significant long-term opportunities. If you look at the energy transition, hydrogen is ultimately the cleanest fuel because its only emission is water. However, commercial viability remains the biggest challenge. Today, hydrogen costs roughly $8-10 per kg, whereas competing fuels are far cheaper. Unless hydrogen prices fall to around $1-2 per kg, widespread commercial adoption will remain difficult. There are also safety challenges, as hydrogen has to be stored at very high pressures of around 350-400 bar. Both cost and storage safety remain major hurdles. We believe hydrogen will eventually become mainstream, but it may still take another 10-15 years.
Industrial gases, meanwhile, continue to generate multiple opportunities. Aerospace is one of the fastest-growing segments, as heavier satellites require more sophisticated cryogenic infrastructure. India is expanding its launch capabilities, and we have already secured significant private-sector orders in this area. The government's third launch pad project will further expand opportunities. Healthcare also continues to grow strongly following the expansion of hospital infrastructure after Covid-19. Another major opportunity is semiconductors. We are already supplying companies such as Micron and Foxconn and have entered the ultra-high-purity semiconductor pipeline business. The industry's biggest challenge today is manpower. Even companies such as Micron and Tata have highlighted the shortage of trained personnel, and we have already started training teams to address this demand.
India is pushing localisation across strategic manufacturing sectors. How self-reliant is India's cryogenic equipment ecosystem today, and which critical technologies or components still depend on imports?
Acharya: India's cryogenic technology ecosystem is now highly mature. We have been manufacturing cryogenic equipment since 1992, and today almost all major equipment, steel, pipes, valves and other components are available domestically. When we started, many of these components had to be imported from countries such as Japan and Germany. Today, Indian manufacturers have significantly improved product quality.
For specialised applications such as ITER, CERN and certain aerospace or mission-critical projects, we still require some imports. Overall, I would estimate that 80-85 per cent of the industry's requirements are now localised. Only around 10-15 per cent still depends on imports, primarily cryogenic pumps and certain specialised grades of valves and gauges. India has demonstrated that it can build world-class cryogenic systems independently. When the second ISRO launch pad was developed between 1999 and 2004, there was initial scepticism about whether complete indigenisation was possible. Today, that launch pad has become the workhorse of India's space programme. That success has strengthened confidence across both industry and government under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
The partnership with Wayout brings advanced water purification technology to India. What convinced INOX India that this technology is commercially viable when similar solutions have remained niche globally?
Acharya: Rather than atmospheric water generation, this technology is essentially an advanced water purification system. It can process virtually any water source, including seawater, river water, lake water or municipal water, and produce safe, hygienic drinking water. The system can also be customised to produce alkaline water or water enriched with specific micronutrients. Each micro-factory can produce up to 22,000 litres per day, sufficient to serve around 10,000 people. The key advantage is decentralised production. Instead of transporting bottled water over long distances, these systems can be installed directly in villages, shopping malls or other locations, significantly reducing logistics costs.
The solution also addresses concerns around plastic waste and microplastics. Instead of disposable PET bottles, the system uses reusable stainless-steel containers, which we already manufacture for beverages such as beer, wine and syrups. Our role is to manufacture these systems at scale using Wayout's process technology while leveraging INOX India's manufacturing capabilities, precision engineering and quality standards. Initially, production will follow a contract manufacturing model, with future commercial models evolving as the market develops.
Many sustainability technologies struggle because the economics do not work at scale. What is preventing this technology from becoming mainstream in India?
Stenerhag: Most sustainability-focused technologies struggle because their unit economics require consumers to pay a premium. Our experience has been different. We have already completed extensive due diligence with one of the world's largest bottled water companies, covering pricing, technology and legal aspects. The most important metric is the delivered cost per litre, not simply the production cost.
Because water is produced locally, the system eliminates transport costs, plastic packaging and many associated emissions. As a result, the delivered cost per litre is already lower than locally distributed single-use bottled water. Working with INOX India will further industrialise manufacturing, improve efficiency and reduce costs even more. Commercial viability is critical because sustainability alone is not enough. Businesses and consumers also need clear economic incentives to adopt new technologies.
Looking ahead five years, which opportunity do you believe will transform INOX India the most?
Acharya: I don't believe only one business will drive our future. All of them will contribute, which is why our logo carries the 'X' to represent multiplication. We are building capabilities across industrial gases, LNG, hydrogen and cryogenic scientific applications. We are among the few companies globally supplying equipment for large scientific projects. Emerging areas such as aerospace, data centres, semiconductors, ultra-high-purity gases and advanced water technology all represent meaningful opportunities. If hydrogen becomes commercially viable, it will unlock another major growth engine.
In industrial gases, aerospace and healthcare will remain key growth drivers. For LNG, automotive fuel, marine fuel and small-scale LNG offer significant potential. In cryogenic scientific applications, aerospace and defence are particularly promising. We recently supplied an indigenous oxygen generation unit for submarines. Traditionally, submarines without such systems need to surface every four to five days. With our technology, they can remain submerged for around 45 days, making them far less detectable. Our philosophy has always been to develop technologies ahead of market demand. That first-mover approach has been one of the key reasons behind INOX India's growth |
