Building Sustainable Industrial Ecosystems: Powering India's Manufacturing Future Through Renewable Energy and Smart Infrastructure

As India accelerates its journey toward becoming a global manufacturing powerhouse, the future of industrial growth will depend not only on scale but also on sustainability. Renewable energy, integrated industrial ecosystems, and climate-resilient infrastructure are rapidly emerging as the cornerstones of competitive manufacturing, enabling businesses to reduce emissions, optimize costs, and strengthen supply chain resilience. Sustainable industrial clusters have the potential to redefine how industries operate—making environmental responsibility and economic growth complementary rather than competing priorities.

With this vision, Aequs Infra has pioneered an integrated industrial cluster model that combines near 100% renewable energy, shared infrastructure, and value-chain co-location to create highly efficient manufacturing ecosystems. From the Belagavi Aerospace Cluster to upcoming industrial and logistics parks, the company is embedding sustainability, ESG principles, and operational efficiency into the very foundation of industrial infrastructure, demonstrating how clean energy and manufacturing competitiveness can go hand in hand.

In this exclusive email interview with TheCSRUniverse, Mr. Shyam Kalyanasundaram, CEO, Aequs Infra, discusses the vision behind building sustainable industrial ecosystems, the company's transition to near-complete renewable energy, and the role of integrated manufacturing clusters in reducing carbon emissions while enhancing supply chain efficiency. He also shares insights on renewable energy adoption, policy reforms, ESG-led infrastructure development, and how future-ready industrial clusters can support India's manufacturing ambitions and Net Zero goals. 

Scroll down to read the full interview.

Q. Aequs SEZ Belagavi has achieved near 100% renewable energy usage, a significant milestone for an industrial manufacturing ecosystem. What was the vision behind this transition, and what key factors enabled its successful implementation?

A. When we planned the Belagavi SEZ / Belagavi Aerospace Cluster (BAC) nearly two decades ago, we weren't just thinking about industrial plots or factory sheds. We wanted to build an industrial ecosystem where companies could manufacture efficiently while sharing infrastructure that would otherwise be too cost intensive to create individually.  This approach led to developing, perhaps the most sustainable Aerospace manufacturing operations anywhere in the world with co-located manufacturing units, sharing the infrastructure.  and utilities

The BAC ecosystem model encompasses the entire manufacturing value chain from raw materials to the finished product, all within a single location, making it one of the most sustainable locations. The ecosystem approach reduces the distance travelled by aerospace components from 5000 kms to just under 500 meters. This integrated approach also reduces the carbon footprint per component making BAC unique among aerospace facilities worldwide. In addition, our green energy initiatives add to the sustainability aspect at the BAC campus. Logistics is one aspect people often overlook. If a component travels just a few hundred metres instead of several thousand kilometres between manufacturing stages, the environmental and operational benefits are significant.

Aequs Infra adopted a similar approach in developing the other industrial clusters in Hubballi and Koppal where it operates India's first Durables Goods Cluster and Toy cluster, respectively.

Q. The cluster meets its energy requirements through a mix of rooftop solar, open access renewable energy, and green power from the State Electricity Board. Could you elaborate on how this integrated energy model was designed and implemented?

A. The design started from one question: how do you guarantee 24/7 renewable supply for a facility with zero tolerance for downtime? The answer was a three-layer model   rooftop solar for captive daylight generation, open-access renewable contracts for extended capacity, and State Electricity Board green power to cover any remaining gaps. No single source does everything; they work in combination.

What made implementation possible was operating as more than a landholder. Aequs Infra built and managed a licensed power distribution network across the campus, actively blending these three sources in real time. Every customer receives that reliability of clean, uninterrupted power without negotiating their own separate arrangements. Spreading supply across multiple channels means no single contract failure can disrupt operations, and the overall energy mix stays predominantly renewable. 

Q. Many manufacturers are concerned about balancing sustainability with operational reliability and competitiveness. How has Aequs demonstrated that renewable energy adoption can deliver both environmental and business benefits?

A. While Aequs Infra per se is not involved in manufacturing, what we deliver to our customers within the cluster, is the advantage of an optimal energy mix for their manufacturing operations. We have been able to deliver over 30% savings in operational cost to customers in the cluster alongside the environmental gains. That figure tells manufacturers something important: the business case and the ESG point towards the same direction. This is not a trade-off; it is a structural advantage.

It works because renewable power, particularly solar and open-access wind, is now frequently cheaper than conventional grid power on a levelized basis. Delivered through shared cluster infrastructure, those savings compound, ensuring that   no individual company   duplicates investment in generation, distribution, or compliance.  

Q. The Aequs SEZ ecosystem brings together the entire aerospace value chain within a single location. How has this cluster-based approach contributed to reducing emissions, improving supply chain efficiency, and enhancing sustainability outcomes?

A. As I mentioned, sustainability is ingrained into the model. Co-location is one of the most underrated decarbonisation tools in manufacturing elsewhere. Consolidating raw material processing, component manufacturing, sub-assembly, and finished-part production within a single campus significantly lowers the carbon footprint per part, since the energy embedded in logistics, packaging, and intermediate handling shrinks dramatically.

Q. What were some of the major challenges encountered during the transition towards near complete renewable energy adoption, and how did Aequs overcome them?

A. As a deemed distribution licensee, Aequs SEZ is authorized to purchase power from multiple sources, including exchanges such as IEX, in accordance with the Electricity Act, 2003, and licensing conditions and regulations of 2004. We source solar and wind power through third-party agreements under the Green Energy Open Access (GEOA) route and address short-term requirements through power exchanges in coordination with licensed traders. 

Timely approvals and regulatory support from the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) enabled our transition to ~100 % green power by permitting direct procurement from external green energy providers. As our distribution network at the Belagavi Aerospace Cluster (BAC) campus was already established, this transition required no significant capital expenditure.

We are thankful for the support from Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL), Karnataka State Load Despatch Center (KSLDC), and Hubli Electricity Supply Company (HESCOM), who have played a key role in facilitating our transition to ~100% green power.

This process has been smooth thanks to the collaborative approach of Govt of Karnataka’s power sector institutions.

Q. Sustainability expectations from industrial infrastructure developers are evolving rapidly. How is Aequs Infra embedding ESG principles and climate resilience into the design and development of its upcoming industrial and logistics parks? 

A. Expectations from the industry have shifted from just emissions reporting to core sustainability approaches embedded within master-planning for Industrial parks and infrastructure. For instance, for our upcoming industrial and logistics parks, energy infrastructure, water management, and value-chain co-location are foundational design parameters, not additions layered on after the facility is built. ESG is now a standard approach baked into the master plan for all our infrastructure led offerings to our customers.    

Q. From your experience, what policy interventions or ecosystem level support are needed to accelerate renewable energy adoption and decarbonisation across India's manufacturing sector?

A. The highest-impact intervention would be harmonising open-access renewable energy regulations across states. Navigating different rules, charges, and approval timelines state by state creates complexity that disproportionately burdens smaller manufacturers, the ones who stand to benefit most from lower-cost renewable power. The Industrial policy also needs to shift from incentivising standalone units to incentivising integrated clusters. Co-location delivers significant decarbonisation outcomes that no individual-facility incentive can replicate.

Finally, predictable, long-term grid integration policy for hybrid renewable models   combining captive generation, open-access, and grid-supplied green power would give developers the confidence to commit to decade-long infrastructure investments rather than short-term workarounds. India has the dual advantage of renewable generation capacity and the manufacturing ambition. What is missing is regulatory consistency that treats the cluster, not just the individual factory, as the unit of decarbonisation.  

Q. What is Aequs Infra's long term vision for building future ready industrial ecosystems, and how do you see sustainable industrial clusters contributing to India's manufacturing ambitions and net zero goals?

A. Our long-term vision is to make sustainable infrastructure the default   for Indian manufacturing, not a premium option available only to well-resourced companies. Every industrial cluster and park that we develop starts from the same foundation we have established at Belagavi: integrated renewable energy, value-chain co-location, and shared infrastructure that lowers both cost and emissions simultaneously.

India’s manufacturing ambitions and its net-zero commitments are too often framed as competing priorities. Our experience shows they are not. Clusters built with sustainability embedded from the outset are more cost-competitive, more resilient to energy price volatility, and more attractive to global OEMs navigating their own decarbonisation pressures.