Grundfos Targets India's District Cooling Market, Citing 30-40% Efficiency Potential

Danish pump manufacturer Grundfos has identified significant growth potential for district cooling solutions in India, estimating that centralised systems could reduce energy and water consumption by 30 to 40 percent compared with conventional standalone cooling setups.

According to Saravanan Panneerselvam, Senior Regional Director for Commercial Building Services in IMEA at Grundfos, the company is targeting planned urban developments, commercial complexes, and infrastructure projects. Integrating centralised cooling systems at the design stage, rather than retrofitting them later, allows multiple buildings to nullify peak demand spikes and optimise resource consumption.

While district cooling is widely established in parts of the Middle East, the market in India remains in its nascent stage, with most commercial buildings continuing to rely on individual cooling systems. Grundfos has previously executed India's first greenfield district cooling project at GIFT City in Gujarat, alongside smaller campus cooling projects ranging from 500 to 10,000 tons of refrigeration capacity across the country.

India currently stands as the company's largest growth-potential market across the broader India-Middle East-Africa and Asia-Pacific regions, recording double-digit growth. This comes at a time when the Middle East business faces headwinds from ongoing geopolitical conflicts that have disrupted logistics, extending shipping times from Europe to the Middle East from roughly three weeks to about 85 days.

In contrast, the Indian operations have remained relatively insulated due to local manufacturing capabilities. Approximately 60 to 65 percent of Grundfos' business in India is locally sourced, produced, and assembled. Consequently, while overall IMEA business is expected to remain flat this year following five years of double-digit growth, India continues to perform strongly.

Looking ahead, Grundfos is targeting specific verticals to drive expansion in India, including efficient pumping systems, water treatment, and reuse for energy and water-intensive data centres. The company is also focusing on transportation infrastructure—such as airports, railway networks, and metro projects—as well as the hospitality sector.

"Grundfos' strategic focus on India's emerging district cooling market highlights the critical role of sustainable urban infrastructure in modern business expansion. As Indian cities scale rapidly, integrating resource-efficient technologies at the design stage will be essential for reducing operational overhead. Furthermore, this case demonstrates how local manufacturing capabilities can insulate industrial players from global supply chain disruptions, ensuring steady double-digit growth in high-potential regional markets." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes