Ashish Gaikwad, Managing Director, Honeywell Automation India Limited and VP-GM, UOP and Honeywell Process Solutions India, talks to ET Digital about the firm’s secret mantra for success, its latest offerings, and why he believes India must be one key cornerstone of the company’s global success story.
ET: How does Honeywell leverage its innovation engine, talent, and technology to address the requirements of digitalisation and sustainability in India?
Ashish Gaikwad (AG): Honeywell has been in the business of energy automation and sustainability for over 116 years now. The secret for Honeywell to have survived for such a long time and thrived is by continuously reassessing its business strategies and embracing evolving technologies. Honeywell’s secret sauce is to continuously reinvent and innovate. As a technology company at its core, we leverage cutting-edge technology to create useful practical solutions, resulting in an impressive portfolio of over 36,000 patents worldwide.
When envisioning our trajectory 10 or 20 years down the line, we identify two undeniable mega trends: digitalisation and sustainability. The accelerated pace of digitalisation, fueled by the pandemic, and the imperative of sustainable practices, are the key areas where Honeywell directs its efforts. Over half of the company’s research and development budget is allocated to these two mega trends, with a particular emphasis on sustainability. This global approach extends to Honeywell’s operations across 80+ countries.
When it comes to India, the country hasn’t become a shining star for the firm just lately, though the country is doing well. India holds a significant position and cannot be overlooked. However, it is not merely India’s economic strength that makes it important for Honeywell. The nation’s human capital and skilled workforce provide a unique advantage for technology companies.
Pic: Honeywell’s factory at Fulgaon, Pune.
With approximately 14,000 employees and substantial investments in India, Honeywell acknowledges the country’s potential. India’s average GDP growth of 6% creates a significant demand for energy, fuels, electricity, and batteries. Honeywell recognises that India must be a cornerstone of its success story, aligning with the country’s energy transformation goals. Honeywell aims to support India’s growth trajectory by leveraging its innovation engine, talent, and technology. Moreover, the digitalisation trend is an obvious choice, given India’s renowned digital skills and accomplishments such as UPI (Unified Payments Interface), making the collaboration between Honeywell and India a natural fit to address the requirements of digitalisation and sustainability.ET: Tell us about your technologies helping firms achieve their ESG goals.
AG: Climate change is a pressing issue that we can’t ignore. If the planet’s temperature rises by more than 2 degrees Celsius, we will face disastrous consequences, including food shortages and unpredictable rainfall patterns.
That’s why we need to tackle the root of the problem: greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. CO2 is a bad by-product of industrialisation, but we can’t simply shut down all industries and compromise our current standard of living. Addressing this, we have developed technologies to capture CO2 and turn it into something useful. We can make fuels and plastics out of it. But it is not just about capturing CO2; it’s about establishing an ecological balance. That is why we are working on creating a cycle where CO2 levels don’t increase in the atmosphere. We want to find practical uses for CO2. Another area we are focusing on is biofuels. We can produce ethanol from plant-based materials like sugar, molasses, and agricultural waste. This ethanol can then be converted into fuels used in aeroplanes, which is called sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Let me also tell you about our focus on green hydrogen. We have a lot of solar energy at our disposal, and we can use it to produce green hydrogen using electrolysers. But here’s the exciting part: we have developed electrolysers that are far more efficient than traditional ones. It is about 30% more efficient. This means less energy from solar panels is needed to produce more hydrogen.
Pic: Honeywell’s research lab at its Pune facility
But it does not stop there. We are also working on converting grey hydrogen, which produces CO2 as a byproduct, into blue hydrogen. By capturing the CO2 emissions, we prevent it from entering the atmosphere. In fact, we are collaborating with Exxon Mobil on a project that aims to capture a whopping 7 million tonnes of CO2. That is equivalent to the emissions of 1.5 million automobiles. This blue hydrogen production not only helps the environment but also opens opportunities to create clean plastics from the captured CO2.
Lastly, we also need to discuss air conditioning. The hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in AC systems harm the atmosphere and contribute to the depletion of the Ozone layer. We want to replace them with hydrofluoroolefins (HFOs), which are much safer for the environment.
These technologies have been around for a while, but we need proper regulations, incentives, and maybe even penalties to encourage the transition from older AC systems to ones that use HFOs.
So, we are working on various fronts to combat climate change and promote sustainability.
ET: You mentioned green plastics. Is it a reality in India at the moment?
AG: We are tackling the issue of plastics in two ways, and also actively promoting these solutions in India.
Firstly, we have a technology that allows us to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) and convert it into methanol. From there, we can transform the methanol into a substance called olefins, which is used to make plastic. Traditionally, plastic is made from crude oil, which is not environmentally friendly. But by using captured CO2, we are reducing pollution and creating a more sustainable process.
The second approach we take is called plastic circularity. This means we can recycle plastic rather than constantly creating new plastic. Let’s say you have a plastic phone cover. We use upcycle technology to melt down that old plastic, capture the carbon emissions produced during the process and use it to create brand new plastic. This helps reduce the need for new plastic production.
It’s important to note that we cannot simply get rid of infrastructure like refineries, petrochemical plants, and pipelines. So, we are focused on developing technologies that can lower their carbon footprint and make them more environmentally friendly. We believe in finding solutions that work within the existing systems while minimising the harm to the planet.
ET: Some business owners maintain that embracing sustainability is anti-business and hurts profitability. Are their fears misplaced?
AG: Sustainability and business can go hand in hand. By leading with purpose, investing in innovative technologies, and supporting all stakeholders, we can drive positive change and make sustainability commercially viable.
I also think every company needs to have a purpose and a belief. For us, our purpose and belief revolve around making the energy transition happen, no matter how challenging or expensive. We are fully committed to this journey, and there’s no turning back. As a company, we have our own plants and factories, and we understand the financial implications of reducing carbon footprint. We believe that if we lead by example and show that sustainability can be economically viable, others will follow suit.
Take the example of mobile phones. The technology improved over a period, and as more people started using them, the cost came down. The same cycle will apply to sustainability-related products. As more companies adopt sustainable practices, the volume increases, and costs go down, making it commercially viable. We are confident that sustainability is a growing trend driven by increasing consumer demand for eco-friendly products.
ET: How do you aim to ensure that the benefits of sustainability effectively reach small businesses (MSMEs) across the country?
AG: For obvious reasons, it’s critical to ensure that the benefits of sustainability reach everyone, especially MSMEs. Also, we cannot solely rely on MSMEs to improve on their own without support. That’s why we want to create innovative technologies and promote them to all stakeholders, including governments, policymakers and big customers. We aim to generate projects that will benefit MSMEs and help them transition towards more sustainable practices.
We educate and support MSMEs by providing guidance on energy-efficient manufacturing processes and incentivising those who embrace sustainable practices. We believe in creating a chain reaction throughout the industry.
One thing I would like to add is the importance of benchmarking and tracking progress for all firms. It’s not enough to make pledges without knowing where we stand. Companies of all sizes need to regularly measure their emissions and benchmark their progress against themselves. We have developed an emissions monitoring system that helps companies manage their emissions and track their carbon footprint. This system, coupled with the power of IoT (Internet of Things), allows for accurate data collection and analysis, aiding in the benchmarking process and fulfilling mandatory reporting requirements.
