Ultrasonic Flow Meters Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Ultrasonic Flow Meters market is expected to register a CAGR of 6.14% over the forecast period (2021 - 2026). Ultrasonic flow meter using doppler technology was traditionally designed to deliver blood flow analysis, which eventually led the ultrasonic flow meters for industrial applications. The development of time-of-flight ultrasonic technology in the 1990s served as a turning point. The time-of-flight flow meters extended applications in the waste and clean water industries. Technological progress in flow meters is still evolving due to the development of sophisticated sensors, microprocessors, and lithium batteries, amongst other technical advancements.

Key Highlights

• Also, non-intrusive based flow meter requirements led to the development of the Clamp-on method, which benefitted water, food, chemical, process, and building services industries due to their ability to measure in-situ flow rates from outside. It has also been extended to ultrasonic transducers clamped to the outside of pipework, for no downtime or disruption across Oil and Gas industries. Another significant segment across O&G and chemical industries that witness increased preferences for ultrasonic flow meters are flare gas monitoring. With multiple vendors offering different solutions, a major chemical company in Texas sought a metering solution for vent gas applications in their Flameless Thermal Oxidizer (FTO) system. Siemens offered their SITRANS FS230, a clamp-on ultrasonic gas flow meter with a non-intrusive sensor, toward wet gas vents and dry gas vents.
• As of February 2020, Fluenta SA, a provider of ultrasonic flare gas measurement technology for the oil and gas and chemical processing industries, announced the extension of distributorship in Australia. By onboarding Aquip Systems Pty Ltd, the company has extended its sales and technical services for FGM 160 meters throughout the Australian market. Developments based on improving the flow meter accuracy and end applications were ongoing. For instance, as of February 2020, Flow Technology Inc. introduced the QCT Series of in-line ultrasonic flow meters for low-viscosity liquid applications. Being designed as a compact version, it features a cost-effective solution for measuring low viscosity liquids in the chemical, biopharmaceutical, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, plastics, and power generation sectors, to name a few.
• Also, with significant food and beverage production processes, including pasteurization, brewing, sterilization, washing, and cleaning requiring steam, it becomes essential to have accurate measurements of the quantity produced to optimize burner control, for instance, and operate as efficiently as possible. Likewise, Krombacher Brewery Group, based in Germany, resorted to Krohne for a suitable measuring technology solution for its auxiliary and supply processes for energy balancing. The company supplied 16 UFM 3030 ultrasonic flow meters for the heating water measurements and vortex flow meters and a couple of other temperature sensors. This led the brewery to access measurement data that detects heat and flow rate losses in the circuits.
• The COVID-19 outbreak has shown a positive impact on the ultrasound flow meters market. Firstly, as per the World Health Organization (WHO), the water supply must be kept safe, owing to the chances of transmission of the virus that can quickly grow through sewage water. This factor drives the adoption of biological wastewater treatment systems, and it may impel the ultrasound flow meters market growth during the pandemic. Many countries’ government bodies and non-profit organizations are taking initiatives to create awareness about water safety and security during this outbreak. For example, more than 2500 companies are aligned with water quality associations in the United States to ensure good quality of water supply to dialysis centers and residential and commercial sectors.

Key Market Trends

Waste and Wastewater is Expected to Hold Significant Share

• Ultrasonic flow meters are amongst the widely used flowmeters today across potential end-use industries. These flow meters generate superior results as they rely on a measurement principle that is non-intrusive and produces less pressure loss, provided the conditions are suitable for their use. Ultrasonic flowmeters can be used on all commercially available pipe sizes in water treatment plants. In industrial environments, ultrasonic flow meters are primarily used in water & wastewater management. Decades of ongoing R&D in sensors and signal processing have resulted in a sophisticated flow meter integrated optimally into highly complex applications using measuring, controlling, and regulating technology.
• Major companies are providing ultrasound flow meters for water applications. For example, NIVUS offers one of the cost-efficient, ultrasound-based Type OCM Doppler systems, which cover the full range of measurement and control tasks of standard water and wastewater applications. It is the solution of choice for whenever the discharge of extraneous water needs to be determined or billing purposes. The NivuFlow 750 instrument series utilizes the scientific hydraulic models for significantly accurate determination of flow rates.
• Aguas de Saltillo is a water utility plant, responsible for supplying drinking water to residential, commercial, and industrial customers throughout Saltillo and treating the wastewater. The utility is a public-private partnership of the city and Aguas de Barcelona, a Spanish company dedicated to providing water services across four continents. It further incorporated smart flow meter, offered by JAR electronics, a Siemens Mexico distribution partner. It is equipped with an integrated GSM/GPRS wireless communication module and an optional radiometric transmitter.
• Vendors operating in the market are looking for new product developments related to the water and wastewater industries, further boosting this segment’s growth. For instance, in October 2019, Bell Flow Systems introduced the Dynasonics TFX-5000 ultrasonic clamp-on flow meters manufactured in the United States by Badger Meter. The newly developed product is designed for non-invasive, ultrasonic transit-time flow measurement of liquids. These flow meters are ideal for water and wastewater treatment and other potential applications.
• By improving the sludge flow measurement, the water facilities can increase the accuracy of payables to the hauling transportation companies. They further observed reduced operations and maintenance costs by lowering trucking needs and time spent troubleshooting the custody transfer measurement and flushing the lines to minimize build-up. Looking at the future of water and wastewater facility infrastructure requirements, it is clear that there are many components to consider when planning for optimized operations and ensure continuity of processes.

Asia-Pacific is Expected to Witness Fastest Growth

• The water and wastewater management sector is dominating in multiple countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Countries like China, India, and those in Southeast Asia are witnessing rapid urbanization and industrial development, driving the need for adequate power generation, water supply, and wastewater treatment solutions. According to WHO, reducing wastewater generation and implementing on-site sewage and wastewater technology are two strategies that can improve wastewater management. Singapore’s Tuas Desalination Plant (TDP), the first desalination plant owned and operated by PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, has won international recognition in 2019 for its ecologically sustainable use technologies in the treatment process.
• In February 2019, SUEZ NWS formed a joint venture with Zhuhai Huigang Urban Resources Development Co. Ltd, in building and operating a WWTP with a daily capacity of 25 thousand ton, to treat the industrial wastewater generated by the several industrial companies located in the petrochemical park of the Zhuhai Gaolan Port Economic Zone. Furthermore, the Water Environment Partnership in Asia (WEPA) plans for the contribution in improving the water environment by offering knowledge and information necessary for the enhancement of water environment governance. These factors have significantly are expected to contribute to the market growth of ultrasonic flowmeters in the region substantially.
• In October 2019, AMS, Qingdao iESLab Electronic Co., Ltd., and Jiangxi Water Group Co., Ltd., collaborated to extend their China Water Utilities’ Platform, an industrial alliance formed for the promotion related to the benefits of ultrasonic water metering and NB-IoT technologies based on Ali Cloud. Jiangxi Water Group Co., Ltd needs high-precision, real-time data for a clear picture regarding the customer usage to significantly manage its water distribution infrastructure and services to approximately 10 million households. As the first water companies to install city-wide ultrasonic water meters in China, the company will use new water meter designs based on AMS ultrasonic flow measurement solutions connected to the utility with an NB-IoT wireless network.
• In May 2020, Fuji Electric India Pvt. Ltd. announced the launch of a new Clamp-on type Ultrasonic Flow Meter for Saturated Steam. Fuji Electric designed the FSJ/FSX series ultrasonic flow meters for Saturated steam with useful energy measurement without pressure loss. It installs easily without the need to stop the process or cutting pipe, measures meager flow rates down to zero, utilizes noise eliminating frame to ensure accurate measurements without interference, and offers fewer maintenance costs due to no moving parts. The new Ultrasonic Flow Meter for Steam was developed with high-sensitivity and latest noise reduction technologies to measure the saturated steam flow rate at shallow pressures from 0,1 to 0.9 MPag high-temperatures up to 180 degrees celsius.

Competitive Landscape

The Ultrasonic Flow Meters market is quite fragmented, with multiple vendors providing ultrasonic flowmeters in various operating temperature ranges, media pressures, meter sizes, and construction materials. Major players are Baker Hughes Company (GE), Endress+Hauser Group Services AG, Honeywell International Inc., and Emerson Electric Co, along with other emerging players.

• July 2020 - KROHNE Group launched OPTISONIC 6300 V2 ultrasonic flowmeter with a stationary, clamp-on design ideal for a wide range of systems. The flowmeter allows users to measure flow anywhere necessary, all while processes continue. The latest features include a viscosity range of up to 200 cSt and a next-generation signal converter for enhanced application range.
• February 2020 - Endress+Hauser announced Proline Prosonic Flow G 300/500 flow meter. The Prosonic Flow G is ideal for demanding applications, measuring both dry and wet gases with precision at ±0.5%, and reliability across process and ambient conditions that fluctuate significantly. Prosonic Flow G measuring system being developed following IEC 61508 (SIL), enables usage across multiple safety-related applications.

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