Zhongtai Securities(SH:600918) Zhi Tong Cai Jing·2025-10-17 02:01Core Viewpoint - The cooling tower market is experiencing steady growth, driven by both traditional industry upgrades and emerging applications, with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.39% from approximately $4.27 billion in 2024 to $7.46 billion by 2033 [1] Group 1: Market Demand and Structure - Cooling towers are essential heat dissipation facilities in energy and industrial systems, with stable market demand across various sectors including thermal power, petrochemicals, metallurgy, nuclear power, and data centers [1] - The global cooling tower market is expected to grow from approximately $4.27 billion in 2024 to $7.46 billion by 2033, indicating a CAGR of 6.39% [1] - The industry has a well-defined structure with clear divisions among upstream (electromechanical equipment, steel materials, chemical materials), midstream (cooling tower manufacturers), and downstream (heavy industries like petrochemicals and energy, as well as light industries like food and textiles) [1] Group 2: Technological Trends - The primary technology in cooling towers is wet cooling, which is efficient but has high water consumption; dry cooling is water-efficient but less effective; hybrid cooling towers balance efficiency and water usage, consuming about 20% of the water used by traditional wet towers [2] - The trend towards water conservation is accelerating the adoption of new cooling solutions [2] Group 3: Traditional and Emerging Applications - Traditional industries such as thermal power, petrochemicals, metallurgy, and nuclear power provide stable demand for cooling towers, with significant upgrades and renovations expected to drive further demand [3] - In the thermal power sector, the installed capacity is projected to reach 1,444 million kilowatts in 2024, accounting for 44% of the total, with upgrades driving cooling tower demand [3] - Emerging applications, particularly in data centers and nuclear power, are rapidly increasing demand for cooling towers, with data centers becoming essential for heat dissipation due to expanding computational power and liquid cooling solutions [3][4] Group 4: Data Center Growth and Liquid Cooling - The energy consumption of data centers is rising, with cooling systems accounting for about 40% of total energy use; by 2030, nearly 10 million edge computing nodes are expected to be deployed, increasing cooling demands [4] - Liquid cooling is becoming mainstream, enhancing the role of cooling towers in data center cooling systems, with the global data center cooling tower market projected to grow from $3.47 billion in 2024 to $6.78 billion by 2031, reflecting a CAGR of 10.9% [4] Group 5: Nuclear Power Expansion - The expansion of nuclear power into inland areas is driving the need for upgraded cooling tower technologies that are water-saving, low-noise, and environmentally friendly [5] - Nuclear fusion research is accelerating the demand for cooling solutions, with significant energy release potential and a projected financing scale of $7.1 billion by 2024, indicating rapid industry expansion [5] - Cooling towers are critical components of cooling systems in nuclear fusion, with the market expected to grow significantly as the industry develops [5]