Improving India’s Solid Waste Management the Target of Yokogawa’s Investment and Collaboration with Ideation3X

Yokogawa Electric Corporation has made a US$10 million Series B investment* in Ideation3X (i3X), a Singapore-based venture company that is targeting the rapidly expanding integrated solid waste management (ISWM) sector in India through a process that adopts a circular economy approach. With this investment in the high-growth ISWM field along with a business collaboration agreement, Yokogawa aims to bring together Ideation3X’s and its own technology and experience and so develop its business in the Indian market. 

Founded in 2017, i3X has been backed since its inception by Unison Capital Group, a Japanese private equity firm. According to Yokogawa, i3X possesses unique know-how in the ISWM field, such as technology for producing high-quality alternative fuels from waste. In addition, due to Unison Capital’s support, the company’s ESG management has been highly evaluated and is one of the factors for it being entrusted with waste treatment projects in three Indian cities, including New Delhi. 

Through the investment in i3X, Yokogawa says it will be able to contribute to the formation of a circular economy based ISWM framework appropriate for the Indian market and make full use of its measurement and control technologies to support the government’s Clean India Mission to improve the environment in cities throughout the country. While providing technical support for the development of i3X's business, Yokogawa will also look to expand its engagement in this sector by undertaking the formation of a consortium with related organizations and companies.

One of the goals of the Clean India Mission is to hygienically treat all the waste in the approximately 3,000 landfills that currently exist across the country by 2030, and at the same time establish a waste disposal model based on circular economy principles. As it is rolled out, it is expected to generate demand not only for conventional waste disposal facilities, but also plants that produce alternative fuels from waste and small-scale thermal power plants that generate electricity from these alternative fuels.