Dutch water, waste management and circular solutions take centre stage at IFAT India 2026

Representatives of the Dutch water, waste management and circular economy sectors came together in Mumbai for IFAT India 2026, one of India’s leading trade fairs for environmental technologies. This year’s event brought together 560 exhibitors from over 30 countries and approximately 25,000 visitors.

A meeting place for Dutch-Indian cooperation

The iconic Netherlands Pavilion brought water, sanitation, waste management, recycling and circular economy expertise together under one recognisable Dutch presence. The Dutch delegation consisted of six water-sector parties, namely Haskoning, Mondial Foundation, Practica, Qua-vac, Sensiblue, and Solidaridad Network, and seven organisations working on waste and circular economy solutions: the Bollegraaf Group, Circle Economy, Despray Environmental, HuMeij Windshifters, SusBDE, The Ocean Cleanup, and WTT.

The prominent location of the Pavilion, combined with strong Netherlands branding and NX Filtration’s nearby independent booth, gave Dutch environmental solutions considerable visibility at the fair. The Dutch booth served as a base for business meetings, introductions and informal networking for Dutch organisations and their Indian counterparts. With the support of the EICT Group, there were more than 100 meetings on the agenda.

The Netherlands Pavilion was jointly organised by the Netherlands Water Partnership (NWP) and Holland Circular Hotspot (HCH) and received strong support from the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Mumbai and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO).

Dutch presence beyond the exhibition floor

A networking dinner hosted by the Consulate General prior to IFAT’s opening was the start of the delegates’ programme. Here, the first ideas for cooperation were explored. 
On the opening day itself, three dedicated sessions put Dutch expertise in the spotlight.

At the Speakers’ Corner, the ‘Dutch Solutions for India’s Water Ambition’ session brought together Dutch and Indian expertise in areas such as water treatment, filtration, sanitation, water efficiency and implementation. The session was hosted by Thierry van Helden, Deputy Consul General of the Consulate in Mumbai, and included addresses from the FINISH Mondial Foundation, Haskoning, NX Filtration, Practica, Qua-vac, Sensiblue, and Solidaridad Network. This was followed by a discussion on what a USD 10 million investment in India could look like, keeping the audience well engaged. In the last part of the session, Dr Nitin Bassi of the Indian Council of Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) talked about an Indian market scan that is currently being developed in collaboration with NWP and Valuing Blue to identify concrete opportunities for collaboration.

Parallel to this session, NWP participated in the ‘Shaping Water-Secure Cities’ Leaders’ Dialogue, broadening the discussion from individual technologies to the wider challenge of creating resilient and water-secure urban environments. Moderated by Smt. Utkarsha Kavadi, Senior Executive Director at the All India Institute of Local Self Government (AllLSG), the dialogue brought together GIZ India, NWP, and Swissnex. The conversation connected water resilience with urban governance, implementation and international cooperation. NWP showed examples from the city of Rotterdam and shared some design principles being applied in the Netherlands that could be transferred to Indian cities. NWP and GIZ India will continue the conversation in the coming weeks.

Later that afternoon, the Orange Stage hosted a session on ‘Dutch Solutions to Waste Management’. Moderated by Freek van Eijk of HCH, the conversation focused on more efficient and sustainable waste systems, resource recovery, circular business models and opportunities for Dutch Indian cooperation. The session also connected directly to RVO’s Combi Track Programme for integrated solid waste management in India (in Dutch).

Beyond IFAT India

Building lasting partnerships requires more than meeting on an exhibition floor. The Netherlands delegation therefore followed a broader five-day programme, filled with networking events, municipal engagement and technical site visits after the trade fair.

On 11 September, participants visited Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation, where lively discussions with Commissioner Mr Radhabinod Aribam Sharma of the Indian Administrative Services was followed by a visit to sewage works. This gave the delegation a direct view of the urban wastewater infrastructure, the practical conditions and, importantly, the forecasting for meeting the needs of rapidly growing communities in India.

The programme concluded on 12 September with a visit to The Ocean Cleanup’s project in Mumbai. The field trip showcased Dutch environmental technology already operating in the Indian context and was an opportunity to discuss implementation, partnerships, scaling and impact.

Building on the momentum

IFAT India 2026 demonstrated the value of presenting Dutch expertise as a connected proposition rather than as separate technologies. The combination of water, waste management and circular economy expertise helped facilitate cross-sector conversations and positioned the Netherlands not only as a technology provider, but also as a knowledge and cooperation partner. 

To NWP and all the parties involved in the five-day programme, the focus now shifts from visibility to follow-up. Contacts and opportunities generated in Mumbai need to be translated into concrete partnerships, pilots, projects and market opportunities. Upcoming Dutch Indian water activities, including the India-Netherlands Centre of Excellence on Water and India Water Week in Delhi, are natural opportunities to continue these discussions.

IFAT India 2026 showed that combining Dutch technology, knowledge and networks with India’s scale, ambition and implementation capacity can create a strong basis for long-term cooperation on water security, cleaner cities and the circular economy.