From October 14 to 17, 2025, local companies such as ANDRITZ, Bauer, Komptech, KVT Kanzler, Lindner Recycling, Untha, and Thöni took advantage of IFAT India to immerse themselves in one of the world’s most exciting environmental and technology markets. According to Managing Director Bernhard Puttinger, the market is particularly interesting for environmental technology companies from Green Tech Valley: “According to current calculations, the green tech market in India will grow to between US$45 and US$55 billion by 2030, with an estimated annual growth rate of 25 to 30 percent.” What do companies need to know? “India is very price-sensitive. Collaborative and smart cost-optimized solutions with European quality are therefore particularly promising,” says Puttinger.

Billions in market potential for circular economy technology “made in Austria”

According to the Foreign Trade Center, India’s Minister of Environment, Forestry, and Climate Change has stated that India’s circular economy could generate a market value of over US$2 trillion and create nearly 10 million jobs by 2050. Karl Hartleb, Managing Director of the Internationalization Center Styria, also emphasizes the great potential for domestic companies to become successful in this market: “At IFAT, leading Styrian companies are flying the flag on the subcontinent. The need for environmental technology is undeniable nationwide, so interest is high.” However, concrete projects could take time to implement, as legislation is still insufficient and the enforcement of environmental regulations is sometimes patchy, according to Hartleb. Nevertheless: “Europe, especially Germany and Austria, are seen and valued as technological pioneers. However, the understanding of quality and the willingness to pay for quality is only increasing relatively slowly.”

Enormous interest in expertise from Green Tech Valley

Puttinger also confirms that local expertise is of great interest, particularly in the treatment and processing of waste and in the entire field of circularity. This was confirmed not only by the highly exciting exchange with the Indian Institute of Technology [note: Prof. Munish Kumar Chandel from the Environmental Science Engineering Department was impressed by the Green Transformation Cards; see photo below], but also by the delegation’s visit to the environmental company Antony Lara, which demonstrated how 90 percent of the waste from the 22-million-strong metropolis of Mumbai is already being treated. Last but not least, the successes on the ground prove that “companies from Green Tech Valley have been able to initiate strong collaborations and businesses here in recent days—especially in the wake of this Green Tech Cluster delegation—and also sign concrete contracts.”