Advanced materials: Silent enablers of India's clean energy transition

Industrial decarbonisation demands more than renewable energy installations. It requires fundamental improvements in how factories, vehicles, and buildings use energy. Among the least celebrated yet highly effective interventions is thermal insulation — a technology where materials science innovations could deliver outsize climate benefits.

Energy efficiency remains an overlooked but critical component of climate action. The International Energy Agency estimates that improved insulation across industrial and commercial sectors could reduce global energy demand by 8-10 per cent by 2030. For India, where manufacturing aims to contribute 25 per cent of GDP by 2025, this represents both an emissions challenge and an economic opportunity. Better insulation means lower operating costs, reduced fossil fuel dependence, and improved industrial competitiveness.

Silica aerogels—porous materials composed of 95-99 per cent air—offer thermal conductivity as low as 0.016 W/mK, making them among the most effective insulators available. Their applications span industries critical to decarbonization: electric vehicle battery thermal management, oil and gas pipeline efficiency, aerospace components, and building envelopes.

Yet widespread adoption has been constrained by high manufacturing costs, relegating aerogels to specialised applications.

The production bottleneck centres around the drying process. Traditional methods employ supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, requiring high-pressure equipment and long cycle times that drive capital expenditure and operating expenses. This disadvantage has limited the technology's penetration beyond premium applications, despite its technical superiority.

In our own portfolio, Dashamlabs, a Delhi-based startup incubated through research at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI) in Hyderabad, has developed an ethanol-based supercritical drying process that addresses these constraints. By enabling solvent recovery and reducing cycle times, the approach lowers both capital requirements and per-unit production costs. The company is simultaneously developing ambient-pressure drying methods that could further democratise access to aerogel technology.

Market projections underscore growing demand, with one estimate of $875.5 million in 2025 to $2,059.9 million by 2032, at a CAGR of 13.0 percent. Applications in electric vehicle battery insulation show particular momentum, driven by safety requirements and thermal management needs in high-density battery packs.

India's positioning in this market warrants attention. The country currently imports most advanced insulation materials, creating both a trade deficit and supply chain vulnerability. NITI Aayog's manufacturing roadmap identifies advanced materials as a frontier technology where domestic production could yield strategic advantages. The organisation estimates that failing to adopt advanced manufacturing technologies could cost India $270 billion by 2035.

The business case extends beyond import substitution. Indian manufacturers face growing pressure to meet energy efficiency standards while managing operating expenses. Industrial sectors — particularly oil and gas, chemicals, and power generation — spend heavily on thermal management. Aerogel insulation offers measurable returns through energy savings, equipment protection, and process efficiency.

Dashamlabs has secured $1.4 million in seed funding led by Speciale Invest and IIMA Ventures. The capital will support pilot production and customer trials across target sectors. The company's technology transfer from ARCI provides a foundation of validated research, while its manufacturing innovations address the cost barriers that have constrained market growth.

The climate implications merit consideration. The IEA estimates that the operations of buildings account for around 30 per cent of global energy consumption, much of which serves heating and cooling. Improved thermal insulation directly reduces this demand, cutting emissions while lowering costs.

For India, where industrial expansion continues alongside decarbonisation commitments, technologies that deliver both economic and environmental returns deserve attention.

People don't pay as much attention to advanced materials as they do to solar panels or electric cars. Yet they enable the infrastructure that makes clean energy transitions viable. As India builds manufacturing capacity in strategic sectors, establishing domestic production of high-performance materials offers tangible benefits: reduced import dependence, lower industrial operating expenses, and measurable progress toward emissions reduction targets. Aerogels represent one such opportunity where patient capital, technical innovation, and market readiness appear to be converging.