New collaboration with India’s Principal Scientific Advisor embeds climate innovation within national R&D priorities.
AI-enabled research will target sustainable aviation fuel, low-carbon construction, and climate workforce development.
Initiative aligns AI expansion with clean energy deployment and resilience goals in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
At the India AI Summit, Google announced a collaboration with the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India, positioning climate technology at the center of the country’s digital transformation. The partnership launches the Google Center for Climate Technology on Manthan, the PSA’s flagship platform designed to strengthen India’s research and development ecosystem.
The initiative arrives as India accelerates its push for global leadership in artificial intelligence while confronting rising energy demand, rapid urbanization, and climate vulnerability. By embedding climate innovation into national AI priorities, the collaboration reflects a broader policy direction that ties technological advancement to sustainable growth.
“As we discuss the future of intelligence at the India AI Summit, it is clear that India’s journey towards global AI leadership is inextricably linked to the country’s commitment to sustainable growth,” Google said. “Today, we are taking a significant step in this direction by announcing a new collaboration with the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India.”
A National Catalyst for Climate Tech Innovation
The Google Center for Climate Technology is designed as a national catalyst to accelerate decarbonization and advance climate-focused deep technology research. The Center will provide access to sustainability-focused AI models and APIs while supporting talent pipelines and collaborative research.
By hosting the initiative on Manthan, the PSA’s national innovation platform, the program integrates climate technology into government-backed research infrastructure, reinforcing India’s governance-led approach to clean technology deployment.
The Center will solicit research proposals across three priority frontier areas where AI is expected to deliver measurable climate impact:
building a green workforce equipped with technical skills for the climate transition
sustainable aviation fuel research and deployment
low-carbon construction materials to reduce emissions from rapid urbanization
Selected applicants will receive support to develop AI-powered, data-driven solutions aimed at environmental challenges in India and globally.
Targeting Hard-to-Abate Sectors and Workforce Transition
The focus areas reflect both national priorities and global decarbonization bottlenecks. Aviation remains one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize, while construction emissions continue to rise as emerging economies urbanize. India’s infrastructure expansion, expected to continue for decades, amplifies the importance of low-carbon materials research.
Equally significant is the workforce dimension. Building climate-tech capacity at scale aligns with India’s economic strategy to create high-skill employment while supporting global clean energy supply chains.
RELATED ARTICLE: Google Launches Free Tool to Accelerate Industrial Energy Efficiency
Sustainability as the Foundation for AI Expansion
The collaboration forms part of Google’s broader sustainability and infrastructure investments in India. Through its AI Hub investments and local partnerships adding 336 MW of clean energy to the grid, the company is working to align computing growth with renewable power expansion.
Google also highlighted the role of agricultural AI models in strengthening resilience across India’s food systems as climate variability intensifies.
“By providing access to our sustainability-focused AI models and APIs, and supporting talent pipelines, we aim to power a new era of sustainable innovation in India,” the company said.
Strategic Implications for Investors and Policymakers
The initiative reflects a growing convergence between national AI strategies, climate policy, and industrial competitiveness. For investors, climate tech innovation in emerging markets represents both risk mitigation and growth opportunity, particularly in sectors such as sustainable fuels, materials science, and grid resilience.
For policymakers, the partnership demonstrates how public-private collaboration can accelerate research commercialization while embedding sustainability standards into next-generation technologies.
Global Significance
India’s scale, infrastructure expansion, and climate exposure make it a critical proving ground for climate technologies that can be deployed across emerging economies. By integrating AI capabilities with decarbonization priorities, the new Center signals a model for aligning digital growth with climate resilience.
Google emphasized the long-term ambition behind the collaboration: “We look forward to the innovation India’s research ecosystem unlocks to ensure that the AI revolution in India powers, and is in turn powered by, long-term sustainability.”
Follow ESG News on LinkedIn
