Market Challenges: Fluctuating prices of raw materials

The fluctuating prices of raw materials have created uncertainties which are restraining the growth of the global industrial cooling systems market. Raw materials like metals, plastics and other resources required for manufacturing cooling towers, chillers, cooling fluids etc are experiencing inconsistent price trends in the recent years. Unpredictable commodity prices make planning difficult for manufacturers as their production costs become unstable. They find it challenging to adequately factor in raw material costs while bidding for projects or quoting prices to customers. This affects their margins and competitiveness in the market.

Suppliers of these raw materials also face issues in optimum capacity utilization of their plants when the demand suddenly declines due to high prices. As a result, component manufacturers suffer due to inconsistent supply which disrupts their production schedules. Projects get delayed and customers have to bear the brunt of escalating costs and late commissioning. This creates dissatisfaction in the market.

Market Opportunities: Adoption of renewable energy-based cooling systems

Adoption of renewable energy-based cooling systems can be a great opportunity in the global industrial cooling systems market. As industrialization is rising rapidly across the world, the need for efficient and sustainable cooling solutions for industrial facilities is growing tremendously. At the same time, concerns around carbon emissions and climate change are also mounting. This provides a perfect setting for transitioning to renewable energy powered industrial cooling systems.

Renewable energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal can be effectively utilized to power various industrial cooling equipment like chillers, cold rooms, and refrigeration systems. Many countries now get 20-30% of their power requirements from renewable sources on average annually. This clean power can be easily diverted to handle a major portion of industrial cooling load as well. Some industries like data centers have already adopted novel solutions that use outdoor air economization and free cooling enabled by renewable energy to achieve more than 60% annual savings in cooling costs.