Revenue forecast

The revenue estimate for the base year 2023 is $11,488.0 million, with a CAGR of 9.2% for the study period 2023–2030

The Impact of the Top 3 Strategic Imperatives on the Heat Transfer Fluids Industry

Transformative Megatrends

• Why: Currently, a vast majority of heat transfer fluid formulations are far from being sustainable. However, end-use industries and their customers are increasingly seeking sustainable solutions.
• Thus, heat transfer fluid manufacturers and their raw material suppliers and manufacturers face the challenge of developing more sustainable chemistries.
• Frost Perspective: Bio-based fluid formulations that are produced using fully renewable processes, such as one that converts glycerine produced during biofuel production into bio-based propylene glycol, will be a key R&D focus for industry stakeholders.
• However, as high-performance and longevity requirements of heat transfer fluids overshadow sustainability needs, the latter will not be a mainstream trend during the forecast period (2024–2030).

Innovative Business Models

• Why: Digital enhancement of heat transfer fluid systems to enable efficient data management and maintenance is a key unmet need in a diverse set of end-use industry applications.
• Digitalization is also essential to enable reliable monitoring of vital fluid parameters and response capabilities that translate into a robust operational model for business.
• Frost Perspective: Heat transfer fluid manufacturers will need to develop innovative digital platforms that augment the operational capabilities of their end-use industries.
• For instance, these platforms will not only enhance operational efficiency for end users but could also aid in eliminating the burden of distributors in the supply chain, thereby enabling an agile delivery service.

Disruptive Technologies

• Why: Major end users of heat transfer fluids, such as data centers, are transforming their approach to cooling, with an increased focus on both energy-efficiency and space-saving solutions.
• As such, it is imperative that market stakeholders have access to a robust technological solution they can easily and cost-effectively implement on a major scale.
• Frost Perspective: Immersion cooling will gain increasing importance for data center applications as the technology is proving to be a game-changer in terms of more efficient cooling and the reduced space requirements achieved.
• During the next 5 years, heat transfer fluids will witness innovations in the field of advanced formulations for immersion cooling applications.

Scope of Analysis

With global targets to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and the use of fossil fuels, all existing applications for these fuels are undergoing major transformations. Transportation is one end user, with the industry’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs), yet another use case that receives arguably less attention is heat production.

Instead of burning fossil fuels to generate heat, enormous potential exists globally to reconceptualize all existing heat as a resource, and to make the best use of "waste" heat. What makes this possible is heat exchange technology, an area that has improved immensely in recent years.

One of the critical enablers of this heat exchange technology is a heat transfer fluid.

Meanwhile, many existing use cases for heat transfer fluids are undergoing their own transformation.

This global study of heat transfer fluids segments the market by end-use industry application and chemistry as detailed on the following slide.

Market Segmentation

Heat Transfer Fluids

End-use Industry

• Automotive & Transportation
• Energy1, Mining, and Construction Processes2
• Chemicals and Plastics & Rubber
• Food & Beverage and Pharmaceuticals
• Buildings (e.g., Homes, Offices, Data Centers)
• Others3

Chemistry

• Glycols
• Silicones
• Hydrocarbon Oils
• Others4

1 Includes oil & gas and concentrated solar power (CSP) applications combined

2 Includes ground-freezing applications

3 Includes electrical & electronics, die casting, industrial laundry irons and steam generators, converters (pressing, rolling, laminating, and printing) combined

4 Includes fluorochemicals, and refrigerants such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), ammonia, and carbon dioxide deployed in heat-pump systems that serve various end-use industries, molten salts, and other phase-change fluids combined

Competitive Environment

Key Suppliers—Heat Transfer Fluids by Chemistry

Glycols

• Chevron Corporation
• Royal Dutch Shell, plc
• ExxonMobil Corporation
• Sinopec
• TotalEnergies
• BASF SE
• The Dow Chemical Company
• Arteco NV
• Caldera
• Old World Industries
• Fragol AG

Hydrocarbon Oils

• Eastman Chemical Company
• Isel Inc. (DuBois Chemicals)
• Caldera
• The Dow Chemical Company
• Paratherm (Lubrizol Corporation)
• ExxonMobil Corporation
• Lanxess
• Radco Industries, Inc.
• Global Heat Transfer Ltd.
• Petro-Canada Lubricants Inc.

Silicones

• Momentive
• Wacker
• Dow
• Shin-Etsu
• Elkem
• Clearco Products
• Gelest Inc
• Duratherm
• Relather
• Matrix Specialty Lubricants
• HNK Silicone Enterprise