Waste Heat to Power Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the waste heat to power market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global waste heat to power (WHP) market reached a value of nearly $15.5 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.88% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $15.5 billion in 2023 to $25.2 billion in 2028 at a rate of 10.07%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.27% from 2028 and reach $42.8 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted from rising energy costs, increase in demand for clean energy and strong economic growth in emerging markets. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were competition from other renewable energy sources.

Going forward, increasing urbanization, government initiatives promoting energy efficiency and waste heat utilization, rise in demand for electricity and increase in industrial sector growth will drive the growth. Factor that could hinder the growth of the waste heat to power market in the future include high initial capital investment and lack of grid infrastructure.

The waste heat to power market is segmented by product into steam rankine cycle, organic rankine cycle and kalina cycle. The steam rankine cycle market was the largest segment of the waste heat to power market segmented by product, accounting for 66.6% or $10.4 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the organic rankine cycle segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the waste heat to power market segmented by product, at a CAGR of 10.97% during 2023-2028.

The waste heat to power market is segmented by application into preheating, steam and electricity generation, and other applications. The steam and electricity generation market was the largest segment of the waste heat to power market segmented by application, accounting for 74.3% or $11.5 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the other applications segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the waste heat to power market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 10.28% during 2023-2028.

The waste heat to power market is segmented by end-users into petroleum refining and oil and gas extraction, cement industry, heavy metal production, chemical industry, pulp and paper, food and beverage, glass industry and other end users. The petroleum refining and oil and gas extraction market was the largest segment of the waste heat to power market segmented by end-users, accounting for 26% or $4 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the cement industry segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in waste heat to power market segmented by end-users, at a CAGR of 12.21% during 2023-2028.

North America was the largest region in the waste heat to power market, accounting for 34% or $5.3 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by Western Europe, Asia Pacific and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the waste heat to power market will be Asia Pacific and North America where growth will be at CAGRs of 11.02% and 10.32% respectively. These will be followed by Western Europe and South America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 10.02% and 8.31% respectively.

The global WHP market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up 16.37% of the total market in 2022. Siemens AG was the largest competitor with a 5.76% share of the market, followed by General Electric Company with 3.98%, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. with 2.77%, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. with 1.60%, ABB Ltd. with 1.14%, IHI Corporation with 0.79%, Forbes Marshall private Ltd. with 0.10%, Ormat Technologies Inc. with 0.09%, Fuji Electric Co. Ltd. with 0.08% and Trimble Inc. with 0.05%.

The top opportunities in the waste heat to power market segmented by product will arise in the steam rankine cycle segment, which will gain $6.1 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the waste heat to power market segmented by application will arise in the steam and electricity generation segment, which will gain $7.3 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the waste heat to power market segmented by end-users will arise in the petroleum refining and oil and gas extraction segment, which will gain $2.7 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The waste heat to power market size will gain the most in the USA at $2.9 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the waste heat to power market include Innovative products and technologies to improve energy efficiency across the shipping industry, advancements in organic rankine cycle (ORC) systems that convert waste heat into clean electricity, strategic partnerships and collaborations among market players, adoption of combined heat and power (CHP) systems for energy generation, launch of waste heat to power capture pilot projects, emergence of new graphene coatings that convert waste heat into electrical energy.

Player-adopted strategies in the waste heat to power market include focus on developing new product solutions through new product launches, strengthening its business capabilities through new product solutions, contributing to decarbonization in the maritime industry through new product launches and strengthening its business operation through strategic partnerships.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the waste heat to power (WHP) companies to focus on advancing energy efficiency in shipping industry, focus on enhancing organic rankine cycle (ORC) system efficiency, focus on combined heat and power (CHP) solutions for market expansion, focus on steam and organic rankine cycle segments for market expansion, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic partnerships, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions, focus on steam and electricity generation segment and focus on cement and chemical industries.