AI Can Accelerate Industrial Decarbonisation, Say Experts at Bangalore Climate Data Week

2026-10-15 09:17:42 Events / Trade Shows

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Bengaluru, 14 October 2026: Artificial intelligence can accelerate industrial decarbonisation, but translating its potential into measurable impact will require stronger industry–academia collaboration, workforce skilling, enabling infrastructure and wider adoption of deployment-ready climate-tech solutions. This was a key takeaway from the Industry Net Zero Innovation Summit 2026: AI Edition, organised by Climate Collective Foundation through its Climate Challenges initiative, as part of Bangalore Climate Data Week.

Held at Sabha, Bengaluru, the summit brought together industry leaders, technology experts, climate-tech startups and ecosystem stakeholders to explore how AI can help industries improve operational efficiency, reduce emissions and advance their net-zero goals.

At the fireside chat, Building the Industry-Academia Interface for Industrial Decarbonisation, Ankur Gandotra, Head of Industry-Academia Partnerships at the Indian Foundation for Quality Management (IFQM), highlighted the need to bridge the gap between academic research and industrial requirements. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Sameer Guduru, Senior Director, Strategic Technologies & States Engagement, U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC).

The summit also explored the role of international partnerships in accelerating industrial decarbonisation. During the fireside chat, Reimagining Global North-South Partnerships for Industrial Decarbonisation, Rishi Nair, Senior Specialist – Energy Transition at Climate Collective Foundation, Dr. Alexander Fisher, Director, International Climate Initiative Interface India, and Akanksha Sharma,Head of ClimateTech and Digital Utilities at the GSM Association (GSMA), discussed the importance of local context and collaboration in developing climate solutions.

A central highlight of the summit was the debate, AI is an Accelerator of Industrial Decarbonisation, which examined both the opportunities and limitations of AI in driving the industrial transition. Thepanel featured Alexander Hogeveen Rutter, Electricity Sector Lead and

Manager of Research & Diligence at Third Derivative; Dr. Rahul Walawalkar, Founder and President of the Net-Zero Energy Transition Association (NETRA); Vijay Balakrishnan, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital & Information Officer at Godrej & Boyce; Avnish Kumar, Founder and CEO of LivNSense; and Swetha Ramdas, Climate and Sustainability Strategy Leader and former APAC & AMET Sustainability Leader at Amazon. The debate was moderated by Nalin Agarwal, Co-founder of Climate Collective Foundation. Speakers for the motion argued that AI can transform Scope 1 and 2 reductions once data is accurate, with near-term gains needing little capex and materials discovery already shrinking from years to months. Speakers against countered that gains so far are incremental(and prone to rebound), that AI has yet to prove itself in climate solutions discovery, and that it draws capital away from the physical problems of cement and steel.

The programme also featured startup showcases, including Resilience AI and LivNSense, highlighting innovation relevant to industrial decarbonisation. Roundtable discussions addressed high-priority research areas for industry and the application of digital twins to industrial decarbonisation and beyond, exploring how simulations and data-driven insights can inform real-world action.

As industries navigate the transition to net zero, the discussions reinforced a clear message: AI can be a powerful accelerator, but its impact will depend on the strength of the ecosystem around it—including collaboration between industry and academia, skilled talent, access to capital, appropriate infrastructure and the ability to move promising technologies from validation to deployment.

Climate Drinks for Women in Data and Climate, hosted by Climate Collective Foundation under its Women in Climate Entrepreneurship initiative, in partnership with Omnivore, brought together women leaders and allies from the climate-tech and agri-food innovation ecosystems working at the intersection of data and climate.

Jui Joshi, Founding Team, Climate Collective Foundation, highlighted the evening's role in fostering open conversations, peer exchange and meaningful connections among participants working towards a more inclusive and ambitious climate transition.

"For Omnivore, building a strong ecosystem for women entrepreneurs is as important as investing in them" says Sanskriti Kapoor, VP – ESG and Impact, Omnivore.

She Wins Climate – South Asia: Startup Showcase 2026 marked the culmination of the nine-month, equity-free She Wins Climate South Asia Accelerator, supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Government of Canada and the Government of Australia, and implemented by MicroSave Consulting (MSC) and Climate Collective Foundation (CCF). The programme supported 26 women-led climate-tech startups across regions spanning sectors including renewable energy, circular economy, climate adaptation, food and agriculture, mobility, urban infrastructure, industrial decarbonisation and carbon solutions.