Key Highlights:
- Organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at HICC, Hyderabad.
- Theme: “Enabling Cleantech Ecosystem Collaboration & Accelerating Sustainable Innovation.”
- Message: “Innovate | Collaborate | Validate | Accelerate.”
- MoU signed between CII‑GEC and JK Cement Startup Foundry to launch the CII‑JK Cement Industrial Innovation Program.
- Participation from 100+ stakeholders including industry leaders, investors, start‑ups, research institutions, and ecosystem partners.
About the Program
The inaugural CII‑GEC Cleantech Nexus 2026 brought together industry, investors, start‑ups, technology innovators, and research institutions to strengthen pathways for commercialisation and scale‑up of cleantech solutions.
Focus areas included:
- Access to finance
- Industry–start‑up collaboration
- Technology validation
- Market access and industrial adoption
- Business growth and scale‑up
The program featured showcases of emerging technologies across sustainable energy, energy storage, circular economy, water management, resource efficiency, and decarbonisation.
MoU Exchange
A key highlight was the MoU between CII‑GEC and JK Cement Startup Foundry to collaborate on the CII‑JK Cement Industrial Innovation Program.
- Open innovation challenge to address operational efficiency, sustainability, digitalisation, and decarbonisation.
- CII‑GEC to support scouting, evaluation, industry–startup interactions, and pilot‑ready technology pipelines.
Mr. Pradeep Dhobale, Chairman, CII‑GEC Council, emphasised: “A great technology does not automatically become a great business. Start‑ups need industrial partners, industries need technology, and investors need confidence in scalability. The missing ingredient is often not innovation—it is collaboration.”
Mr. Tejpreet Singh Chopra, Chairman, Energy Efficiency Summit 2026 and Founder & CEO, BLP‑Industry.AI, highlighted India’s opportunity to deploy AI on factory floors:
Affordable, secure, and edge‑based AI models can empower 74 million MSMEs without costly cloud or GPU dependence.
- Factories can run predictive models for failures and efficiency with one‑time investments, ensuring data sovereignty and scalability.
Mr. Venugopala Rao Srirangam (My Home Constructions) and Mr. Harish Chandra Prasad (Malaxmi Group, Dharmavana Nature Ark) reinforced the importance of industry‑led innovation and deeper collaboration with start‑ups to accelerate sustainable adoption.
Ecosystem Participation
The program engaged 100+ stakeholders, including:
- Cleantech start‑ups, incubators, accelerators
- Investors and industry representatives
- Technology providers and research institutions
Sessions explored key enablers for scaling cleantech:
- Access to finance
- Industry–startup collaboration
- Technology validation
- Market access and industrial adoption
- Business growth pathways
Emerging technologies showcased included energy storage, circular economy, water management, resource efficiency, and decarbonisation, offering innovators direct opportunities to connect with industry, investors, and ecosystem partners.
Strategic Impact
The CII‑GEC Cleantech Nexus 2026 reinforced India’s commitment to:
- Building a connected cleantech ecosystem
- Accelerating commercially viable sustainable innovation
- Strengthening industry–startup–investor alignment for scalable impact