Water is both a culprit and victim of climate change: it contributes to GHG emissions in the form of CH4 and N2O, while also being highly susceptible to climate impacts. It has historically been an overlooked sector when it comes to innovation despite presenting a large economic opportunity, with the global economic value of water estimated at 58 Trillion USD annually.
Share of emissions ~2-5%(including energy for pumping & piping)
Economic Opportunity
Treated water is a large and growing market in India, with the value of treated used water estimated to be USD 8 Bn by 2047. Water security and resilience carry a huge cost of inaction. For agricultural water usage alone, the cost of inaction is estimated to be USD 869 Bn by 2030.
Water Scarcity
India faces pressing water security issues. 600 million people in India face high-to-extreme water stress, and the groundwater table has been declining rapidly due to over-extraction.
Policy Tailwinds
The Indian government has taken positive steps towards policies and regulations that enable better supply and treatment of water. Most states have implemented decentralized treatment mandates for bulk wastewater producers and Zero Liquid Discharge norms for polluting industries, which are among the strictest wastewater regulations in the world. These rules turn industrial and commercial users into potential customers for wastewater treatment systems, creating suitable market conditions for innovators.
Customers
Policy Makers & Regulators
Agri-Water-Energy Nexus
Subsidized or free electricity for agriculture drives over-extraction of groundwater, resulting in low crop-per-drop efficiency.
Low Pricing
Water supply in India is heavily subsidized, so business models will need to rely on discharge or reuse regulations to create customers' willingness to pay.
Innovation around water usage, treatment and resource recovery is expected to grow in the coming years, driven by:
Find out opportunities with Water sector
Commercially Scaling
Opportunities with solutions reaching commercial parity, need capital to scale.
Applied Innovation
Opportunities with solutions available but need engineering, business model or financial innovation
Fundamental R&D
Opportunities where solutions only exist in labs/pilots, or are yet to be invented
Startup: Indra Water
Stage: Series A
Funding Raised: 4.2Mn
Status: Scaling Revenue
Innovation: Wastewater
treatment systems using electro-coagulation
Startup: Digital Paani
Stage: Pre-Series A
Funding Raised: 1.2Mn USD
Status: Revenue
Generating
Innovation: Automation of
decentralized wastewater systems operations
Research Lab IIT-M
Professor: Prof. Indumathi
M. Nambi
Innovation: Removes colour
and organic pollutants from textile wastewater
Status: Bench-scale
Enabling easy-to-operate decentralized domestic wastewater treatment systems to increase reuse rates
Efficient and reliable cooling solutions for data centers in water-scarce area
Reducing energy & cost for industrial wastewater treatment systems to meet Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) standards
