There is a growing focus on renewable sources of energy to reduce carbon footprint and the consumer preferences are increasingly moving towards renewable products due to enormous needs, feels Samir Somaiya, CMD, Godavari Biorefineries Ltd.

He explains, “In this context, the specialty chemicals can meet particular needs of such customers and their set performance criteria. Identification of their needs is the first step followed by development of knowledge capabilities to develop performance based customized speciality chemicals. To achieve that, we require collaborative models with customers themselves. That would require time with patience besides the right parameters to measure the milestones. For example, Godavari team in the past has developed a feedstock, actually a drop in product which in that case was an alternative to a petroleum product. Also, as a replacement of polymer, we worked on an intermediate, a bio-polymer. There are many customers who are looking at traceability. We are witnessing increased demand.”

Somaiya spoke alongside other industry leaders at an E-Conference titled, "Indian Speciality Chemicals: Opportunities Galore" hosted by Indian Chemical News on 18th June, 2021. The virtual event was moderated by Pravin Prashant, Editor, Indian Chemical News.

Calling speciality chemicals a new area, Ganesh Srinivasan, CEO, Resil Chemicals emphasizes on identification of white spaces that exist in few niche segments. He says “There is a huge gap in global consumption of fragrance and flavors. Electronics and emerging nano-materials are other such segments. While established spaces like paints, surfactants, etc. have got a fair share of speciality chemicals, there is absence of regulatory mechanism in newer areas such as nano. Therefore, I would suggest startups to go into the segments with spaces to establish their expertise and build an ecosystem."

"In India, there is no dearth of competencies among chemists and entrepreneurs. We need to capitalize on China's loss and scale up our speciality chemical operations in the next five years. Since Indian market is growing at a higher pace in terms of local consumption, we need to make a large supply of specialty chemicals available. But there are many challenges such as high borrowing cost on capital, absence of distribution networks and no visible clusters,” added Srinivisan. 

The innovation has to be done while keeping in mind the consumer, feels K. Natarajan, Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer, Galaxy Surfactants Ltd. “We need to start customizing solutions to meet customer demand in a sustainable way. It is important that we are able to build a pipeline and be able to build competence and leverage, scale up for a growth agenda. Consumers are increasingly looking at products that have a low carbon footprint, which means nature derived products. One such example is the changed hygiene habits of people during COVID-19 who now look for mild hygiene or lesser toxic products that don’t damage skin and hair due to repeated usage. Our objective must develop global products that meet standards of safety and sustainability. We must set up global chemical warehouses with logistics and storages as these are critical. Since it is not possible without government support, it must also start executing the policies on paper.”

Lamenting the lack of enough attention to speciality chemicals from the government, Prof. Dr. R. K. Khandal, President - R&D and Business Development, India Glycols Ltd. says, “Unless policymakers make specialty chemicals their point of focus, industry can’t grow. The US government gives 15% tax rebates to renewable chemical makers and 30% tax rebates to investors in the area. Here in India, incentives are being given to polymers and plastic but nothing to renewable chemicals. Specialty chemicals definition should be envisaged and fundamentally the renewable energy should be focused upon. Despite investments in 20 years, nano mission has failed to bring out nano products in specialty chemicals. India has a lot of knowledge that needs to be tapped and for that we need a separate Department of Renewable Chemicals.”

There is a need for creation of an entire ecosystem, says Ashish Shinde, Country Sales Director, Croda India who feels that only a few speciality chemical plants won’t be of much help. “We need to build unique capabilities as there exists a huge scope and tremendous opportunities for doing so. In the last year and half through the pandemic, we have been able to identify the supply chain gaps and there are equally enough insights for us to bridge these gaps. The United Nationals has set 17 sustainable development goals that are intended to be achieved by 2030. Out of these, we are working on three goals where we can make a difference to the best possible extent. Climate Action, Clean Energy, and Sustainable Cities and Communities have become core to our organizational goals.”

Kaushal Soparkar, Managing Director, Meghmani Finechem believes that India has got tremendous knowledge and based on that, the country should ready a plan for the next ten years. “We need to connect dots and make speciality chemical hubs possible. During the pandemic, the government realized the strength of India’s own chemical industry without which it would have to buy even paracetamol. I think all sides must sit on the table and create policy. Industry has a positive intention to create jobs, pay taxes and bring money to India. Infact, two industries with different expertise must join hands to build an ecosystem. The synergy of chemistry and infrastructure can help in building a strong value chain. Government policy must be based on industry needs and market needs. We have only one PCPIR in Dahej and because of that we are currently supplying to five of our clients. We need to build more. Also, there are no dedicated freight corridors between far off parts such as Eastern and Western India.”