Cooling Towers Market

Market Overview

The global cooling tower market size was valued at USD 3,794.5 million in 2022. It is estimated to reach USD 5,216.7 million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 3.6% during the forecast period (2023–2031). Cooling towers play an essential role in eliminating the excessive heat generated in power plants to ensure the safe operation of thermoelectric facilities. Consequently, cooling tower demand is expected to rise during the projected period.

Cooling towers are specialized heat exchangers that exchange heat with air to remove heat from an industrial or building's HVAC system. They are utilized in various sectors, including power production, petrochemicals, food and beverage, and commercial and residential HVAC systems. Cooling Towers are critical equipment in the worldwide Cooling Towers market for regulating the temperature of water used in power plants, petrochemical facilities, and HVAC systems.

Cooling towers help keep cooling circuits at a consistent temperature and pressure by transporting heat generated throughout the operation to the environment via evaporative cooling. Cooling towers are also utilized in commercial and residential air conditioning systems such as hospitals, hotels, data centers, and shopping malls. They assist in keeping these structures at an appropriate temperature and enhance energy efficiency.

Market Dynamics

Market Drivers

Increasing Electricity Consumption

Rapid industrialization, rise in disposable income, and globalization are the key factors leading to a tremendous demand for electricity across the globe, particularly in developing economies. New technologies that require a lot of electricity are replacing fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions, raising the electricity demand. With the continuous rise in electricity demand, there is a need to bridge the gap between demand and supply through renewable and non-renewable sources. Various power plants, including thermoelectric (oil, natural gas, nuclear, and coal) and hydroelectric, are utilized to generate abundant electricity. These power plants generate a huge amount of heat along with the production of electricity, owing to which cooling towers are used to eradicate excess heat from the plant.

Furthermore, the rise in the demand for thermoelectric power plants is expected to drive growth in the cooling tower market. These power plants generate massive amounts of heat, leading to the mandatory usage of cooling towers. Cooling towers have a crucial function in removing excessive heat produced in power plants, hence contributing to the safe functioning of these facilities. This will likely increase cooling tower demand throughout the forecast period.

Focus on Achieving Energy Efficiency

Cooling towers are required to remove that excess heat from the plant. Conventional cooling towers provide cooling but at the cost of polluting the environment. Technologically advanced cooling towers provide optimal cooling along with providing eco-friendly features. Cooling towers comprise a louver, drift eliminator, air-inlet, loads, fans, nozzles, motor, and fills, which have undergone technological advancements to make the towers energy-efficient. Cooling towers lead to water conservation by minimizing water use, as the same water can be used again for cooling. They minimize the water loss by using efficient evaporative systems that prevent excess water from getting evaporated.

Furthermore, product advancement has led to the emergence of premium-efficiency motors that are expected to meet even higher energy efficiency standards. Moreover, the federal governments of various countries, including the UK and the U.S., have established energy standards that the manufacturers must meet. They are obliged to decrease the energy required to work motors by a significant percentage, leading them to develop high-efficiency motors instead of standard-efficiency motors. Likewise, various cooling tower manufacturers are investing huge amounts in R&D activities to innovate technologies that can help develop advanced energy-efficient cooling towers, leading to the conservation of water and reduction of environmental concerns.

Market Restraint

Issues Pertaining to Scaling and Corrosion

Despite the energy benefits associated with cooling towers, scaling, and corrosion remain the major concerns as they increase the energy consumption; hence, the maintenance costs of cooling towers. Minerals like calcium that deposit on the heat exchange surfaces of cooling towers can also lead to scaling, lower cooling tower efficiency, and higher overhead expenses. Moreover, cooling towers tend to be hot and humid structures, offering an ideal environment for bacteria growth that can harm humans. Such issues related to cooling towers are expected to restrain the growth of the cooling tower market.

Market Opportunities

Growth of the Industrial Sector in Asia-Pacific

The cooling tower market is expected to witness tremendous growth across Asia-Pacific owing to the high rate of industrialization, leading to an ever-increasing demand for cooling towers for various applications across several countries, including China, India, Korea, and Singapore. These markets are anticipated to witness accelerated growth due to increasing demand from the oil and gas, cement, and food and beverage industries. Moreover, the focus on nuclear plant construction in the abovementioned countries is expected to drive the cooling tower market in this region.

Furthermore, the proliferation of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices and the subsequent increase in the volumes of data being generated is also expected to drive the demand for new data centers, which bodes well for the growth of the cooling tower market over the forecast period. The chemical and power generation markets are also growing rapidly across the Asia-Pacific region, which is expected to increase the demand for cooling towers over the forecast period.

Regional Analysis

Based on region, the global cooling tower market is bifurcated into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa.

Asia-Pacific is the most significant global cooling tower market shareholder and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% over the forecast period. Several factors affect the global market in this area, such as China and India's growing infrastructure problems, urbanization, development, and population growth. The substantial government expenditure on fostering company expansion is a major factor contributing to the increase. The Asia-Pacific region witnessed a growth in the consumption of energy-efficient food and beverage products and enterprises due to increasing demand. New power plants were built because there were more people, and they needed more energy. This helped the market grow.

Moreover, the expanding economies of China, India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia pressure governments to develop supporting policies that encourage investments in natural resource extraction, such as crude oil and natural gas. This is predicted to increase the number of oil extraction units in the region and the demand for cooling towers.

North America is anticipated to exhibit a CAGR of 4.01% over the forecast period. North America, led by the United States and Canada, will account for a substantial share due to intelligent buildings, large-scale data centers, and building automation providers. Moreover, the rapid increase of structured and unstructured data and the rising need for cloud computing will boost the global data center market throughout the projected period, driving demand for cooling towers. Cooling towers assist in maintaining the optimal temperature in data centers, decreasing energy use.

In Europe, the cooling tower market is expanding due to increased demand for cooling solutions in the industrial and commercial sectors and increased demand for HVAC systems in residential buildings. Government actions to encourage energy-efficient solutions and an increased emphasis on sustainability are credited to market growth. The European Union has set ambitious targets to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. This has generated considerable potential for cooling tower participants to spend on R&D and produce novel products that align with the region's eco-friendly regulations.

Moreover, the increasing need for renewable energy sources such as wind and solar has provided the cooling tower industry possibilities. These renewable energy sources need cooling solutions to maintain efficiency and optimize energy production, fueling demand for cooling towers.

Segmental Analysis

The global cooling tower market is bifurcated into type, material, and applications.

Based on type, the global cooling tower market is bifurcated into open-circuit cooling towers, closed-circuit cooling towers, and hybrid cooling towers.

The open-circuit segment dominates the global market and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 3.81% over the forecast period. This segment's development may be ascribed to improved cooling, lower process temperatures, and the low carbon footprint provided by open-circuit cooling towers. All of these reasons contribute to a growth in the use of open-circuit cooling towers in the cement, chemical, commercial and real estate, pharmaceutical, and power production sectors, as well as refineries. Superior cooling, as proved by lab testing, lower process temperatures, and a lower carbon footprint are the primary benefits of open-circuit cooling towers. For instance, MITA Cooling Technologies S.r.l. offers open-circuit cooling towers suitable for medium and small installations and large industrial cooling towers for industries such as oil and gas and cogeneration.

Based on material, the global cooling tower market is bifurcated into fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP), steel, concrete, wood, and high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

The fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) segment owns the global market and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.4% over the forecast period. The strong resilience of FRP to corrosion, acid rain, and snow drives global demand. Moreover, it is lightweight, requires little maintenance, is ideal for both dry and wet applications, and can tolerate a variety of weather conditions. All these factors mentioned above are anticipated to propel the demand for FRP cooling towers worldwide in the coming years.

Based on application, the global cooling tower market is bifurcated into HVAC, power generation, oil and gas, and industrial.

The HVAC segment dominates the global market and is predicted to exhibit a CAGR of 5.3% during the forecast period. The heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system controls the temperature and cleanliness of the air inside. The market is growing because people have more money and more homes and businesses are being built. How well and efficiently the cooling water is used depends on how well the cooling towers work. Cooling towers are often an important part of how the pharmaceutical business works. Many of the most important processes in the pharmaceutical business make heat and often need a good cooling system.

In the pharmaceutical business, a solid cooling system that can do more than one thing is needed for reactor batch processing. Some other examples are cooling creams before mixing them, heating and then cooling liquid pharmaceuticals during sterilization, cooling the water used in the wet granulation process for making tablets, controlling the temperature of the molding process when making gelatin capsules, and cooling ointment before it is packaged.

Recent Developments

• March 2023- Johnson Controls will acquire Enercon. Johnson Controls, a global pioneer in building efficiency, announced intentions to buy Enercon, a prominent cooling tower provider. Due to the purchase, Johnson Controls will have a significant footprint in the worldwide cooling tower industry. Cooling towers manufactured by Enercon are utilized in various industries, including power generation, manufacturing, and data centers.
• March 2023- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries introduced a new waterless cooling tower. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has introduced a new water-free cooling tower. The new tower employs adiabatic cooling, which uses air to chill water without water usage. The waterless cooling tower is intended for usage in hot and humid environments.