Honeywell’s deep relationship with the Indian aviation sector’s modernization efforts underscores its commitment to innovation and sustainability, says Ashish Modi, President of Honeywell India
Shedding light on Honeywell’s strategic outlook and its alignment with key global megatrends, he tells Financial Express Online about the company’s strategic realignment to critical megatrends, including Automation, Future of Aviation, and Energy Transition, and its contributions to India’s Net Zero roadmap.
Growth in India Market
“India’s economic prominence makes it a strategic market for Honeywell globally – it is the world’s fastest-growing major economy and a top investment destination. With over $1 billion in domestic sales and exports, our India’s business is a strong driver of growth for the company,” he says.
Adding, “Our extensive local presence demonstrates its commitment to India. We have over 13,000 employees across 20 locations including 5,500 engineers, a robust local supply chain, a large manufacturing footprint and four global centers of excellence for technology development and innovation. Honeywell Technology Solutions (HTS) innovation hub, headquartered in India, is the engine driving technology development for the company globally. We have over 3000 locally engineered products and solutions that enhance how people live, work, and travel daily in India and all over the world.”
Different Verticals
“All of our verticals– Aviation, Energy & Sustainability, Building Automation, and Industrial Automation – have a longstanding legacy in India and our growth strategy is in sync with the broader macros shaping the country’s economic expansion, be it Make in India, growth of digital capabilities, continued growth in refining, infrastructure, aviation, and the spectacular investment rates seen in mobility, new energies, batteries etc.,” he says.
Business Realignment
“The company’s strategic realignment to critical megatrends — Automation, Future of Aviation, and Energy Transition marks a significant phase in our business transformation, poised to have a profound impact on our operations and growth trajectory,” he explains.
“Firstly, in the realm of Automation: Honeywell leverages its deep expertise in sensors and controls to cater to a vast addressable market across industrial and building automation. Our innovative technologies automate a wide spectrum of systems, from air quality and HVAC in buildings to flight control systems in commercial jets.
Secondly, our focus on Energy Transition aligns with global imperatives for sustainability and net-zero commitments, presenting a large addressable market. Our longstanding leadership in sustainability is demonstrated through breakthrough technologies such as sustainable aviation fuel and other biofuels, electrification solutions, circularity/advanced recycling initiatives, and low global warming refrigerants.
Flow Batteries represent another frontier of our sustainable energy initiatives. These cutting-edge batteries offer greater flexibility, extended energy storage durations and longer lifetime vs. traditional battery energy storage solutions (BESS) and will play a critical role in enabling the world’s transition to renewable energy sources.
Lastly, in the domain of the Future of Aviation, we are at the forefront of addressing challenges related to air travel demand growth and carbon footprint reduction. Recent proprietary breakthroughs enabling sustainable aviation fuel production using widely available and economically viable feedstocks highlight our commitment to driving meaningful action to decarbonize this sector.”
Technologies/innovations in the Energy Transition Space
According to him, Honeywell’s ready-now solutions that can support India’s Net Zero roadmap:
CCU (Carbon Capture and Utilization): Honeywell offers advanced solutions for carbon capture and utilization, enabling industries to reduce their carbon footprint and comply with emissions regulations effectively.
SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) and other biofuels: The company’s expertise in biofuels and SAF production from diverse feedstocks like biomass, cooking oil, animal fats, ethanol and captured CO2 provides viable and environmentally friendly alternatives for fossil fuels for transportation.
Green H2 Solutions: Exhaustive range of green hydrogen solutions include Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carrier, Catalyst Coated Membrane and Automation Portfolio, supporting India’s goal of transitioning to a hydrogen-based economy.
Green Refrigerants/HFO (Hydrofluoroolefins): Honeywell’s low global warming potential refrigerants, including HFOs, can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automotives, heat pumps and appliances.
“We have several other carbon footprint reduction solutions, such as technology for plastic upcycling; our product called Titan, which finds application in building high-performance roads at lower costs and reduced carbon emissions; our software platform called Forge, which provides sustainable solutions to track and reduce emissions,” Mr Ashish Modi explains.
Supporting Indian Aviation Sector
According to him, “We have a deep relationship with the Indian aviation sector’s modernization efforts. In Defence, and have a long history of indigenization and localization of cutting-edge technology to support local capabilities build-out and reduce import dependence. There has been a partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) since 1983 for local production, maintenance, and repair of military turboprop engines.”
The partnership with HAL has expanded over time to cover other engines and aircraft components installed within military aircraft, and several other similar partnership discussions are in progress with other domestic players.
The company continues to grow their localization effort across both defence and commercial airline space. And are also tapping into the rapidly growing India supply ecosystem for our global sourcing and engaging with academia and research institutions for the development of advanced aero technologies. “As air travel demand continues to surge, we are cognizant of the industry’s focus on reducing its carbon footprint and are invested in developing sustainable solutions to support this goal,” he states.
Alongside sustainability, “our technology portfolio includes next-generation flight-deck controls, avionics, navigational systems, electric and hybrid aircraft propulsion, APUs, business jet engines, and advanced air mobility and autonomous-flight technologies.”