Nordex, the German wind turbine maker, has committed to setting up an engineering and research and development centre in Chennai that is expected to create about 1,000 jobs. The company exchanged a facilitation agreement with Guidance Tamil Nadu, the state’s investment promotion agency, in late July 2026, in the presence of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Hamburg, Nordex builds, installs and services onshore wind turbines, with a focus on machines in the four to seven megawatt class. It employs more than 10,900 people worldwide and has installed more than 52 gigawatts of turbines. The group manufactures in five countries: Germany, Spain, Brazil, the United States and India.
What the centre will do
The new roles will span engineering, R&D, digital technology and supply chain. Planned work includes structural engineering and system design for turbines that must cope with harsh climates and varied grid conditions. Teams will also work on lowering the cost of energy through data analytics, materials science and process improvement, and on digital projects such as software diagnostics and automated supply chain management. Early hiring in Chennai has included roles in blade reliability, blade structures, blade materials and blade quality. Nordex has not disclosed the size of the investment.
Why Chennai
Chennai is where Nordex already has a working base in India. The company runs a capability centre and manufacturing operations in the city, and placing R&D next to production lets engineers solve design and quality problems close to the shop floor. Tamil Nadu also has one of India’s largest installed wind power fleets and a deep pool of mechanical and electrical engineers, which suits a turbine maker looking to scale up quickly.
Nordex’s India footprint
India is one of the five countries where Nordex makes turbine components. Its Indian operations produce nacelles, rotor blades and concrete towers. The company has also built up a capability centre in Chennai, and the new R&D centre extends that presence into deeper engineering work for the global group. With about 1,000 roles planned, it would be one of the larger engineering hubs in the company’s network outside Europe.
What it signals
Renewable energy companies have been slower than carmakers and banks to build large engineering centres in India, but that is starting to change. Nordex’s move ties R&D to an existing manufacturing base rather than setting up a standalone office, a model that makes sense for heavy equipment makers where design and production are closely linked. It also adds to Tamil Nadu’s push to attract engineering centres in advanced manufacturing alongside software work.
At a glance
- Home country: Germany
- Sector: Energy
- City: Chennai
- Date: July 2026
- Status: Announced
- Scale: About 1,000 jobs planned across engineering, R&D, digital and supply chain
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