GUERBET ALCOHOL MARKET ANALYSIS

Guerbet alcohol market is expected to reach US$ 2.19 Bn by 2031, from US$ 1.52 Bn in 2023, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7% during the forecast period. The guerbet alcohol market is witnessing steady growth due to its diverse applications in various industries such as cosmetics, personal care, pharmaceuticals, and industrial processes. Guerbet alcohol is known for its unique properties, including high boiling point, excellent solubility and improved stability, that makes it a popular ingredient in a variety of products.

Guerbet alcohols obtained from guerbet reactions involve dimerization of the alcohol to produce branched alcohols with longer carbon chains. These alcohols are used as plasticizers, thickeners, and solvents due to their favorable physicochemical properties. Global guerbet alcohol market is witnessing growth due to increasing penetration into personal care products and pharmaceuticals.

Guerbet Alcohol Market Regional Insights:

• North America is expected to be the largest market for guerbet alcohol market during the forecast period. It accounted for 30.3% of the market share in 2023. The U.S. and Canada were key consumers, with pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries being major end users of these alcohols. The growth of these enduse industries directly influenced the demand for guerbet alcohols in the region.
• Europe accounted for 25% of guerbet alcohol market share in 2023. The stringent regulations on personal care and pharmaceutical products of the region influenced the demand for high-quality ingredients like guerbet alcohols.
• Asia Pacific accounted for 19% of guerbet alcohol market share in 2023, due to rapid industrialization, urbanization, and rising middle-class population. Countries like China, Japan, South Korea, and India have witnessed an increase in pharmaceutical and personal care sectors, and this boosts demand for specialty chemicals like guerbet alcohols. This region also became a hub for chemical manufacturing, thus, driving the growth of market.

Figure 1. Guerbet Alcohol Market Share (%), By Region, 2023

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Analyst Viewpoint:

The guerbet alcohol market growth is driven by expanding enduse applications such as coatings, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products. Guerbet alcohol acts as an essential emulsifier and viscosity-modifying agent in these industries. Growing demand from the booming coatings and paints industries especially in Asia Pacific and Latin America can boost demand for these alcohols. Water-based coatings demand is surging due to stringent environmental regulations regarding solvent-based coatings, and this boosts usage of guerbet alcohol. However, price hikes for guer splits and seeds from which guerbet alcohol is derived could negatively impact profit margins for manufacturers. The market may face restraints such as availability of substitute products such as guar gum and xanthan gum in certain end-use application. Opportunities lie in exploring other enduse applications and capacity expansions to cater to unmet demand from emerging economies.

The Asia Pacific region, especially China and India, witnesses huge demand owing to burgeoning coatings industry and presence of prominent guerbet alcohol producers. However, production capacity additions in North America and Middle East and Africa are expected to fuel market competition and market share gain in these regions

Guerbet Alcohol Market Drivers:

Rising use as stabilizer in explosives: Increasing use of guerbet alcohol as a stabilizer in the explosive industry is one of the key factors driving growth of the guerbet alcohol market. Guerbet alcohol helps in maintaining the consistency of explosives during storage, transportation, and usage. This allows for safer and more stable detonation of explosives.

The mining and construction industries have witnessed significant growth over the past few years. With rapid urbanization and infrastructure development projects, the demand for explosives to break and clear rock surfaces has increased substantially. The safe use of such large volumes of explosives requires effective stabilization, which is predominantly achieved through the addition of guerbet alcohol. For instance, India's National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) envisions will invest over US$1.5 trillion by 2025 to boost the construction of roads, railways, and other projects.

High demand from coatings segment: The coatings segment has witnessed a major surge in demand for guerbet alcohol in recent years and this is positively impacting the overall growth of the guerbet alcohol market. Guerbet alcohol finds wide application in coatings mainly due to its excellent film forming, thickening, and stabilizing properties. It is used as a dispersant, emulsifier, and stabilizer in formulations of water-based paints and coatings.

The increased preference for water-based paints and coatings over solvent-based variants across industries such as automotive, construction, and packaging amongst others has significantly boosted the consumption of guerbet alcohol. The guerbet alcohol market is further gaining from rising applications of water-based coatings in infrastructure and building construction. For instance, according to data provided by the World Bank, India and China are expected to witness consistent growth in building construction over the next few years supported by rapid urbanization. These estimate real estate development may contribute around 13% of India's Gross Domestic Product GDP and closer to 25% of China's GDP by 2025.

Guerbet Alcohol Market Opportunities:

Innovation of new application areas: The guerbet alcohol market relies on its usage in personal care and hygiene applications such as shampoos, face washes, and lotions. While these remain the core segments, diversifying into new and innovative areas could drive further market growth. One such promising new application is in agrochemical formulations. Guerbet alcohol acts as an excellent suspending agent and stabilizer for agrochemical agents like fungicides, herbicides, and insecticides. Its ability to improve the efficacy of these chemicals by maintaining even distribution can increase farmers' crop yields.

Guerbet alcohol's viscosifying properties make it effective for secondary and tertiary oil recovery processes like hydraulic fracturing and chemical flooding which can yield 20-40% more oil.

Growing construction industry in emerging nations: Growing construction industry in emerging nations present a huge opportunity for the guerbet alcohol market. As urban populations in countries like India, China, Indonesia, Egypt, and others continue to rise rapidly, there is immense pressure on these nations to rapidly expand housing, commercial and infrastructure development. This vast scale of construction activity requires a plethora of materials to be used for activities like painting, manufacturing of lacquers, solvents, plastics, and others.

Guerbet alcohol is a synthetic alcohol that is derived from acetaldehyde, finds widespread applications in manufacturing of paints, coatings, lacquers, and others used extensively in construction. It helps impart characteristics like corrosion resistance, hardness, and durability to various construction materials. Guerbet alcohol is also used as a solvent in manufacturing of plastics, resins and adhesives which witnesses huge demand from the construction industry for activities like laying pipes, manufacturing furniture, windows, and others. Its high solvency properties and low toxicity make it an ideal green choice for many construction applications. For instance, according to the data provided by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, urban population in countries like India is projected to rise by over 404 million between 2018-2050.

Guerbet Alcohol Market Trends:

Focus on bio-based guerbet alcohol: The focus on bio-based guerbet alcohol is having a significant impact on the guerbet alcohol market. There is a growing awareness among consumers and manufacturers about the need for sustainability and reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Many countries and organizations have also announced goals and policies to promote the use of bio-based and renewable materials. Guerbet alcohol is traditionally produced from petroleum sources. However, with the increased emphasis on sustainability and bio-economy, major guerbet alcohol producers are investing heavily in developing bio-based production methods.

The shift towards bio-based sources is changing demand dynamics in the guerbet alcohol market. Traditional petroleum-based producers are facing increasing pressure from regulators and consumers to reduce fossil fuel dependence and carbon footprint of their products. These are actively partnering with other players in the value chain and supporting development of new technologies to produce guarbet alcohol from renewable feedstocks. For instance, according to the U.S. Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office report, in 2021, second-generation biofuel feedstocks like sugarcane bagasse hold potential to significantly contribute to sustainable fuel and chemical production through waste valorization and circular economy approaches.

Consolidation activities among players: The guerbet alcohol market has witnessed significant consolidation activity in years as large companies look to expand their portfolio and market share. Major players have been acquiring prominent craft breweries and smaller nationally distributed brands to strengthen their customer base. Consolidation moves have altered the competitive landscape, with a few mega companies controlling a large chunk of the total market. This is challenging smaller independent brewers who find it difficult to grab shelf space and tap handles as the bigger conglomerates leverage their scale and production capabilities. Regional craft brewers need to focus on niche segments, distinctive offerings, and strong local following to withstand competitive pressures.

Guerbet Alcohol Market Restraints:

Stringent regulations pertaining to use:  Stringent regulations around the production and sale of guerbet alcohol can hamper the market growth. Many governments worldwide have implemented strict rules in response to public health and safety concerns over excessive or irresponsible consumption.

For example, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that countries should establish appropriate policies and regulations to ensure the reduced harmful use of alcohol. This includes limiting both the physical and economic availability of alcoholic beverages through restrictions on production volumes, retail outlet density, and marketing activities. Several nations have adopted the WHO's suggested best practices into their domestic laws and policies in order to curb alcoholism and related societal harms.

In the European Union (EU), there are strict regulations that products, labelled as 'alcoholic beverages' or 'spirits', must meet exacting standards for ingredients, production methods, packaging, labelling, and marketing. This leaves little flexibility for innovative new types of guerbet alcohol products to easily enter the market. Establishing a new alcoholic product and getting it approved for legal sale under the EU regulatory framework can be an extensive, time-consuming and cost-prohibitive process for small producers.  For instance, in 2020, according to a report published by the International Centre for Alcohol Policies, South Africa witnessed a significant decline in reported incidents of alcohol-related harms after implementing policies like restrictions on trading hours for alcohol retailers and a nationwide ban on alcohol sales during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Counter balance: If current guerbet alcohol formulations do not meet new regulations, consider reformulating products to comply with these standards also broaden the product portfolio to include a variety of guerbet alcohols that cater to different regulations across various regions and industries. This can reduce the risk of business being significantly impacted by a single regulatory change.

Volatility in raw material prices:  The volatility in raw material prices is a major concern hampering growth of the guerbet alcohol market. Guerbet alcohols are manufactured by reacting normal alcohols like butanol or hexanol with themselves in the presence of an acid catalyst. This process utilizes large amounts of normal alcohols as starting materials. However, the prices of normal alcohols have witnessed significant fluctuations over the past few years due to various macroeconomic and geopolitical factors impacting their supply. For instance, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the price of corn, which is one of the key source for producing butanol through fermentation, had been increased by over 30% from January 2020 to January 2022 due to reduced supplies caused by adverse weather conditions in major producing countries. Similarly, crude oil prices, from which chemicals like hexanol are derived, ranges between US$ 20-120 per barrel, since 2020, thus leading to inconsistent raw material costs.

Such volatility in input prices poses major challenges for guerbet alcohol producers to undertake long term capacity expansion plans and make large capital investments. It impacts their ability to offer stable product prices to end-use industries and sign long term supply contracts.

Recent Developments:

• Lake Charles Chemical is being built by Sasol Limited in Louisiana, U.S. The project is intended to produce 1.5 million tonnes of ethylene per year, which will then be used in on-site downstream operations to manufacture high-value derivatives such as mono-ethylene glycol, ethylene oxide, low-density polyethylene, ethoxylates, ziegler, and guerbet alcohols. After completion, the company's guerbet alcohol production capacity will increase by approximately 30 KTPA. Sasol Limited is a global integrated chemicals and energy company. In the U.S., Sasol operates the Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP), a world-scale petrochemical complex located in Louisiana. The LCCP consists of a 1.5 million ton per year ethane cracker and six downstream chemical units, which significantly increase Sasol's chemical production capacity in the U.S. The complex produces a variety of products, including ethylene, polyethylene, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol.
• Fine Organic Industries Pvt. Ltd., a specialty additives producer for food, rubbers, plastics, paints, cosmetics and personal care, inks and coatings, among other specialty applications, announced to open a new Oleo Chemicals production facility to produce fatty amines, fatty acid esters and guerbet alcohols. Guerbet alcohol manufacturing capacity is anticipated to be 1,000 MTPA. Fine Organic Industries Pvt. Ltd. is a leading producer of specialty additives for various industries, including foods, plastics, rubbers, paints, inks, cosmetics, coatings, and more. The company is a global supplier of high-quality additives for specialty applications, with its products being used in over 80 countries. Fine Organics is known for its focus on green chemistry and the use of oleochemical derivatives from locally-grown plant sources to create sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions.

Figure 2. Guerbet Alcohol Market Share (%), By Product, 2023

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Top Companies in the Guerbet Alcohol Market

• BASF SE
• Sasol Ltd
• New Japan Chemical Co., Ltd.
• Kisco Ltd.
• Kokyu Alcohol Kogyo Co., Ltd.
• DowPol Corporation.

*Definition: Guerbet alcohols are a group of organic compounds that are used in various industries, including cosmetics, personal care, pharmaceuticals, and industrial processes. These alcohols are known for their unique properties, such as high boiling points and excellent solubility, which make them valuable in different applications. The guerbet alcohol market is expected to experience significant growth due to increasing demand for effective and safe cosmetic products, advancements in synthesis technology, and the expanding pharmaceutical sector. The market is characterized by the presence of key players such as BASF, Sasol, Evonik Industries, Jarchem Industries, and others, who are evaluated based on their product offerings, financial position, growth strategies, and regional presence. The market is also influenced by factors such as the price of the compound, supply, and demand trends, and regulations impacting the industry.