The industrial refrigeration equipment market consists of sales of industrial refrigeration equipment by entities (organizations, sole traders and partnerships) that produce industrial refrigeration equipment such as chillers, refrigeration compressors, condensers, cooling towers, and others, which are used in food, distillery, dairy and other industries.

A recent report from Research And Markets, titled “Industrial Refrigeration Equipment Global Market Report 2021: COVID-19 Impact and Recovery to 2030” states that the global industrial refrigeration equipment market is expected to grow from $37.9 billion in 2020 to $38.84 billion in 2021 at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.5%. The growth is mainly due to the companies rearranging their operations and recovering from the COVID-19 impact, which had earlier led to restrictive containment measures involving social distancing, remote working, and the closure of commercial activities that resulted in operational challenges. The market is expected to reach $50.37 billion in 2025 at a CAGR of 6.7%.

Major players in the field

According to the researchers, the major players in the industrial refrigeration equipment market are Johnson Controls Inc., Emerson Electric Co., United Technologies Corporation, Ingersoll-Rand plc, Lennox International Inc., Danfoss A/S, GEA Group AG, EVAPCO, Inc., BITZER Kuhlmaschinenbau GmbH, and Mayekawa Mfg. Co. Ltd.

The current trend

The trend of adoption of environment-friendly refrigerants is increasing within the industrial refrigeration equipment market, which is expected to fuel the growth of the market. A major contribution towards environmental concerns such as ozone layer depletion and global warming are contributed by refrigerants as they absorb infrared radiation and retain it in the atmosphere. The environment-friendly refrigerants do not deplete the ozone layer in the atmosphere, do not contribute to global warming and have low Global Warming Potential (GWP). Halogen-based refrigerants face stringent regulations by governments of several countries and this is strengthening the use of environment-friendly refrigerants. For instance, in 2019, M&M Refrigeration and Carnot Refrigeration entered into a partnership to create eco-friendly refrigeration solutions. Therefore, the adoption of natural refrigerant-based equipment owing to stringent regulatory policies is another factor driving the industrial refrigeration system market growth.

Segment-wise overviews

The Research And Markets report has divided the entire industrial refrigeration equipment market into segments like condenser; compressor; evaporator; controls etc. It is also segmented by end-user industry into food and beverage; refrigerated warehouse; chemical; petrochemical; pharmaceutical; refrigerated transportation; others and by refrigerant type into ammonia; carbon dioxide; hydrofluorocarbon.

Good potential through merger

In 2020, Gardner Denver Holdings, Inc., a US-based global provider of industrial products such as compressors, blowers, and vacuum pumps, merged with Ingersoll Rand Industrial segment for an undisclosed amount. The newly combined company, named Ingersoll Rand Inc., is expected to be placed as one of the major global players in mission-critical flow creation and industrial technologies. Ingersoll Rand will produce mission-critical flow creation systems that include air compressors, pumps, blowers, Club Car brand of electric vehicles and systems for fluid management, loading and material handling. Ingersoll Rand is a US-based innovative company that provides mission-critical industrial, energy, specialty vehicle and medical products and services.

The growth stimulator

The growth of the food and beverage processing industry especially in developing countries is expected to drive the industrial refrigeration equipment market. Globally, food and beverage processing is considered to be one of the largest industries. On an average, 90% of the produced food is processed in developed countries such as the USA. High demand for processed and convenience meat products was witnessed in the last decade due to the changing and busy lifestyles of consumers.

For the last five years, ranked fifth in the world in terms of production, consumption and exports, India’s food-processing sector is growing 8% annually. For instance, by 2024, according to a joint study by ASSOCHAM India and Grant Thornton UK, India’s food processing sector is estimated to have the potential to attract $33 billion in investments and the total food production in India is estimated to double by 2024. To keep processed food products fresh and healthy, industrial refrigeration systems are required and the increasing consumption of processed foods is propelling the demand for industrial refrigeration systems and further supporting the market growth.

The restraining factor

Strict regulations imposed on the use of Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants due to global concerns are expected to restrain the growth of the refrigeration equipment market. Major greenhouse gases that are responsible for environmental concerns such as global warming are chlorofluorocarbon and hydrochlorofluorocarbons. Stringent regulations are being imposed by developing countries to overcome global environmental concerns. For instance, by 2030, according to the Montreal Protocol, full consumption phase-out of refrigerant with higher GWP to promote environmental health, is aimed in non-Article 5 countries. The Montreal Protocol has set limits for the HCFC consumption (or cap) at 10% cap in 2015, 0.5% cap in 2020 and full consumption phase-out in 2030. According to the EU F-Gases Regulation, from January 2020, the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases for servicing and maintaining refrigeration equipment with a charge size of 40 tons of CO2 equivalent [CO2e] or more, which are with global warming potential of 2,500 or more shall be prohibited. Under this, the permission for use of virgin HFCs with a GWP >2,500 for topping up and/or maintaining existing systems over onboard EU flagged ships is prohibited. Thus, strict regulations imposed over the use of GWP refrigerants due to global concerns are acting as a restraint for the market growth.

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