GERMAN MITTELSTAND IN THE ENERGY SECTOR TO FOCUS ON THE CLUSTER APPROACH TO INCREASE INVESTMENT IN INDIA

German Companies in the city of Hamburg discussed various approaches on being a part of the Indian Energy Opportunity, during a Business Seminar on "Opportunities in Renewable and Power Sector" organised by the Embassy of India, Berlin and the Consulate General of India, Hamburg on December 9th. Hamburg, amongst the well-known examples for urban development and use of renewable power proved an ideal ground to fuel discussions amongst the multiplicity of stakeholders towards their engagement with India. The Mittelstand seeks to focus on the cluster and consortium approach especially when it comes to the Indian Renewable Energy Sector German Mittelstand is expected to collaborate together with each other, R&D institutes and experts to engage with India, with a clear helpline offered by the Embassy through its MIIM programme and the other various government incentives. A clear area of mutual cooperation that emerged between the city of Hamburg and India is the off shore wind sector

2. The Ambassador of India to Germany, H.E. Gurjit Singh underlined that India and Germany look back on several years of successful energy partnership, however this now needs to be translated to a business opportunity, which is beckoning the German Mittelstand in areas like the Smart Cities. He said it has become essential that the German Mittelstand come together and offer a holistic package including production, supply, technology and skill development in the Energy Sector. Mr. Martin Koeppen, head of department, economic development and foreign trade from the Ministry of Economics, transport and Innovation said that even though Germany was the 10th largest investor in India, Germany is striving to do more. The participants echoed the sentiment of the mutual benefit that lies in the Indian power sector, given the growing needs of the country, the gap in demand and supply and the need for upgrade of technology, especially to reduce the carbon footprint.

3. The event was attended by over 50 participants from the German power and renewable energy sector. Mr. Robert Schmidt and Mr. Anup Barapatre from Euro Asia Consultancy, MIIM Knowledge partner, detailed the Indian Energy opportunity and discussed India‘s power and renewable energy sector. The vibrant interaction from the audience covered issues like the existing subsidy framework and protection to in-country production. Mr. Ruppert Tillman from Roedl and Partner presented the GST and its implications on the players in the Power Sector. The essentiality of following the NEW 4.0 type approach in India was emphasised by Mr. Jan Luca Plewa from Cluster Renewable Energy Hamburg. The participants also interacted with other companies through specialised case studies and on the ground experiences of companies already established in India, of the likes of Suntrace GmbH. Mr. Kaushal Chattbar, not only discussed the viability of Solar power in India, given that the least sun-light rich regions in India compare to the most sun-light rich regions in Germany but also the various incentives offered by the German government to companies engaging in India.

4. The seminar underlined the various opportunities for increased business cooperation, and presented success stories in the field. Senvion, a global manufacturer of wind turbines has made significant investment under the MIIM initiative by acquiring the production facilities of Kenersys India Private Limited. Germany based Uniper and Indian Power Corporation have entered into an agreement to set up a service company joint venture in India. The MIIM programme has also been supporting companies from the wind turbine technology and companies are bringing in new technologies to India in the fields of renewable energy (biofuels, wind energy) etc. This event fostered discussion and most participants left with a stronger motivation to invest in India.