Heat Exchangers Market Size & Share Analysis - Emerging Trends, Growth Opportunities, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2025 - 2032)

Heat Exchangers Market Emerging Trends

Energy-Efficient Devices Are Trending in Market

• The rising need for HVAC appliances in the industrial, commercial, and residential sectors is driving the market growth.
• The increasing disposable income, changing living standards, and severe climate conditions across the globe are likely to increase the usage of these systems.
• Furthermore, the growing environmental concerns driving the use of energy-efficient and eco-friendly technologies are propelling the market growth.
• According to the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research EDGAR), global emissions reached 53 GTCO₂e in 2023.
• Therefore, government agencies have imposed strict regulations to minimize carbon emissions across industries, thereby fueling the product demand.
• Although heat exchangers are a mature industry with well-proven technology, the global heat exchangers market is evolving in order to meet the ever-changing demands of industrial processes and the environment in which they have to work.
• The heat exchangers market has been undergoing a revolutionary change.
• The manufacturing companies have introduced new hybrid heat exchangers that are extremely efficient and flexible.
• Moreover, the low weight and compact size of these heat exchangers compared to the conventional ones provides installation in constricted spaces, such as offshore platforms.
• The increasing investment in research and development has helped the manufacturing companies to develop efficient solutions for various industries.
• The innovative technologies have improved the efficiency of heat exchanger process that enables the maximum extraction of heat from outgoing fluids.
• The heat extracted can be used for other purposes, such as heating other fluids and producing steam.
• This ultimately reduces the consumption of fuel, thus reducing the carbon footprint of the industry and making the process more economical.
• The demand for heat exchangers with higher efficiency is increasing in North America and Europe, where the emission regulations are stringent.

Increasing Demand across Industries Fuels Industry Growth

• The global heat exchangers market is growing due to increasing investment in chemical, HVAC, gas processing, power plant, and petrochemical industry.
• Chemical industry is one of the most extensive users of the heat exchangers among all the end users, irrespective of the region.
• The chemical processing industry converts one chemical into other and thus uses heat for various chemical reactions and processes.
• It is essential for a chemical plant to utilize and re-utilize the heat to minimize its energy footprint and hence requires lot of heat exchangers.
• During the forecast period, a large number of plants will come into operation, which will reap the advantages of cheap natural gas for the production of ethane, a prevalent feedstock for petrochemical industry.
• The oil & gas industry is driving the growth of the global heat exchangers market, due to the increasing number of gas processing facilities, LNG facilities, tankers, and other related infrastructure.
• This is backed by the increasing shale gas E&P operations due to the technical advancements in this field.
• Furthermore, the increasing count of E&P projects across emerging economies will likely fuel the growth of the heat exchanger market in the coming years.
• As per Shell plc, global LNG trade increased from 97 million tonnes in 2022 to 404 million tonnes in 2023.
• LNG demand worldwide is further expected to rise by 50% by 2040, thus driving the adoption of heat exchangers.
• Heat exchangers have a substantial influence on a nuclear power plant's overall power production efficiency.
• The rising usage of nuclear reactors, upgradation of the existing nuclear plants, and proposals for nuclear power plant projects are the primary factors of encouragement for the market participants.
• According to the World Nuclear Association, there are around 440 nuclear reactors in service across 32 countries worldwide, with over 60 more under development.
• Furthermore, 220 additional reactors are operational for research purposes in 50 countries.
• Moreover, the demand for heat exchangers from the growing HVAC industry is growing across the global market, due to improving infrastructure and standard of living.

Heat Exchangers Market Segmentation and Category Analysis

Insights by Material

The steel category accounted for the larger share in the market in 2024, of 60%, and it will also grow faster in the forecast period. This is owing to the high-volume usage of this material in the manufacturing of exchangers due to its great strength, long life, and corrosion resistance in a wide pH range. Mild steel and stainless steel are the two steel grades that are used by the manufacturers in this industry. Moreover, steel exhibits excellent compatibility with plain, clean water, low weight, strong thermal conductivity, and no requirement for special fluids.

These materials are covered in the report:

• Steel (Larger and Faster-Growing Category)
• Non-Steel

Insights by Type

The shell-and-tube category dominates the market with a market, and it is projected to witness the fastest growth over the next few years. Shell-and-tube variants are utilized in applications requiring a wide range of pressure and temperature and transfer from one liquid to another, liquids and gases, or two gases. These appliances are suitable for the transfer of heat to water from steam due to their simple structure. Floating-head type, U-tube, and fixed-tube sheet are the three most-common types of shell-and-tube product designs.

The plate-and-frame category is predicted to grow rapidly over the forecast period as well. These systems are made up of plates with either a corrugated or smooth surface and are primarily used for low-to-medium-pressure liquid–liquid exchange. Depending on the desired leak tightness, these goods are classified as welded, brazed, and gasketed.

Air-cooled products hold a significant revenue share in the market due to their growing usage in petrochemical plants, compressor stations, refineries, power plants, gas treatment plants, and other industrial facilities. These products consist of an axial-flow fan or a blower for pumping air; a tube bundle, and a supportive structure. Air-cooled equipment can be mounted horizontally, vertically, or at a slanted inclination.

The report offers insights into these types:

• Plate-and-Frame
  • Brazed
  • Gasketed
  • Welded
  • Others
• Shell-and-Tube (Largest and Fastest-Growing Category)
• Air-Cooled
• Others

Insights by End User

The chemical & petrochemical category accounted for the largest market share, of around 40%, in 2024, and it is also growing the fastest, owing to the increasing demand for plastics, packaging, fertilizers, solvents, and paints & coatings. Heat exchangers are necessary for nearly every process that involves heating, cooling, or condensation in the manufacturing of chemicals and petroleum. Heat exchangers are crucial to the efficiency and dependability of the system, the quality of petrochemical products, and the efficient use of heat. These appliances are now becoming huge, efficient, and highly alloyed and offering a low temperature differential and low pressure loss.

These end users have been analyzed:

• Oil & Gas
• Chemical & Petrochemical (Largest and Fastest-Growing Category)
• HVAC-R
• Power Generation
• Food & Beverage
• Automotive
• Others

Heat Exchangers Market Regional Growth Dynamics

Asia-Pacific is the largest market, with 40% revenue share in 2024, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 13% over the forecast period (2025–2032). The large scale of industrialization in developing countries, such as China and India, along with the increasing investments in industrial and commercial projects, is contributing to the region's overall growth in the market. China, Japan, and India have the largest, third-largest, and fifth-largest manufacturing output in the world, respectively.

China leads the region due to the increasing funding in the HVAC, chemical, and petrochemical industries. Moreover, the growing population and increasing government attempts to improve their infrastructure are predicted to support the expansion of the energy & power and HVAC-R industries, which is expected to boost the product demand in the coming years.

Europe is witnessing considerable growth, ascribed to the increasing private and public investments in infrastructure, which is expected to fuel the product demand in HVAC-R applications. Furthermore, the rising demand for equipment with improved durability, efficiency, and fouling resistance across industries is likely to boost the growth of the market over the coming years.

North America is the second-largest market due to the rising oil & gas exploration in the continent. Furthermore, the burgeoning electricity consumption in the commercial sector and a range of other industries is expected to drive the power and energy sector, thereby propelling the market growth in the future.

Here is the regional breakdown of the market:

• North America
  • U.S. (Larger Country Market)
  • Canada (Faster-Growing Country Market)
• Europe
  • Germany (Largest Country Market)
  • U.K.
  • France
  • Italy
  • Spain (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific (APAC) (Largest and Fastest-Growing Regional Market)
  • Japan
  • China (Largest Country Market)
  • India (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • South Korea
  • Australia
  • Rest of APAC
• Latin America (LATAM)
  • Brazil (Largest Country Market)
  • Mexico (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Rest of LATAM
• Middle East and Africa (MEA)
  • Saudi Arabia (Largest Country Market)
  • South Africa
  • U.A.E. (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Rest of MEA

Heat Exchangers Market Share

• The market is fragmented because heat exchangers are well-understood around the world, having been around from the time modern refrigerators emerged in the 1890s.
• Since then, a variety of thermal management devices have been engineered for household and industrial applications.
• This has led to the entry of a large number of small and big companies marketing these systems for specific applications, which is the primary reason for market fragmentation.
• Additionally, there are no specific regulations heat exchangers need to comply with, which lowers entry barriers.
• The recent guidelines for energy efficiency have encouraged many new companies to develop heat exchangers with IoT, predictive maintenance, and other modern technologies.