Key acquisitions to expand footprint in India's energy sector: Honeywell

Compressors Control Corporation acquired by Honeywell counts ONGC, GAIL, Petronet LNG among customers

Diversified manufacturing and tech major Honeywell is focusing on recent acquisitions such as the global Compressors Controls Corporation (CCC) to enlarge its footprint in India's energy sector, Ashish Gaikwad, Vice President and General Manager, Industrial Automation at Honeywell India, told Business Standard.

The NASDAQ-listed company has begun positioning and selling CCC’s products in India.

This includes the anti-surge technology that is majorly used in oil refining, regasification of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), and in the steel and coal sectors, Gaikwad said.

CCC is a market leader in turbomachinery train optimisation services for the upstream, midstream, and downstream Oil & Gas industry, present across continents, and is now part of Honeywell's Process Controls Division, he explained.

“During the flow of compression, there is a tendency of the material to flow backward, which can damage these expensive machines, and cause accidents. Mostly, end customers prefer to buy this technology,” Gaikwad noted.

Major companies in the energy space including ONGC, GAIL, Petronet LNG, and public and private companies running refineries already have this solution, he added.

While the existing market is already very large, areas such as carbon capture offer new markets, Honeywell believes.

Honeywell has also pioneered Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production with its Ecofining process, which has been used to produce SAF commercially since 2016.

The company currently has 30-plus SAF projects globally, Gaikwad said.

Honeywell's technology can enable the safe blending of SAF up to 50 per cent.

“However, for some aircraft engines, we can do up to 100 per cent blending,” Gaikwad said.

He pointed to Embraer successfully testing Honeywell's HTF7500 turbofan engine on its Praetor 600 aircraft using 100 per cent SAF last year.

In India, the company is waiting for aviation regulations regarding SAF to kick into effect or further incentives for SAF to be announced, Gaikwad said.

While Honeywell typically provides the technology needed by oil companies to produce SAF, agri companies have also leveraged the technology in the US.

In its move to reduce the carbon footprint of the aviation industry, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has adopted an aspirational goal of 2 per cent annual fuel efficiency improvement through 2050.

It also wants to hit Carbon Neutral Growth from 2020 onwards, and net zero by 2050.

Local production of SAF is critical as Indian airlines will have to offset carbon emissions generated from international flights from 2027.

This is part of the global Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) scheme launched by ICAO.

CORSIA is implemented in three phases, out of which participation is voluntary in the first two phases for (2021-2026).

While India has decided not to participate in the voluntary phases of CORSIA, local carriers would need to follow their international counterparts after that date.

 

Aviation and automation

The future of aviation is another key area of focus for the company.

The company aims to make modern jets more fuel efficient, introduce technologies to assist pilots during inclement weather and challenging terrains, and work towards making aircraft autonomous.

"This also includes urban air mobility and pilotless taxis. Honeywell has proprietary technologies in these areas. We are hoping to run our first autonomous flight by next year," Gaikwad said.

The company is also investing in automation, in both the industrial and infrastructural sectors, he said.

It is working on energy efficiency and automation in a diverse set of building types from airports, to office buildings, malls, and metro stations, he added.

Honeywell recently acquired the security business of intelligent climate and energy solutions major Carrier Global Corporation.

Honeywell will incorporate Carrier's Global Access Solutions business, which it picked up for $4.95 billion for its Building Security portfolio.