Chemicals & Materials

Specialty Chemicals

Specialty chemicals are an essential chemical industry segment that serves diverse end-use markets such as construction, automotive, electronics, agriculture, and healthcare. Innovative materials, such as advanced polymers, coatings, and composites, have enabled new applications and improved performance in various industries. Green chemistry practices and sustainable production methods have become increasingly important as customers and regulators demand environmentally friendly solutions.

Digitalization and automation have enabled better process control, higher efficiency, and faster innovation while enabling new business models and customer engagement strategies. Advanced manufacturing technologies, such as additive manufacturing, have expanded the design space and reduced time-to-market for new products. Due to increasing volatility, disruption, and competition, supply chain strengthening and risk management have become critical priorities. Finally, emission reduction and environmental stewardship have become essential goals for the industry as it seeks to reduce its carbon footprint and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Petrochemicals

Companies need to address sustainable feedstock challenges for the petrochemical industry to continue growing. This means adopting innovative technologies, exploring emerging markets, and improving productivity. Even though the automotive and oil & gas sectors are still major consumers, it is crucial for these companies to use technologies like big data and AI to make their operations more efficient. To achieve sustainability goals, decarbonization, and recycling solutions are necessary. However, progress is hindered by limited investment availability and high energy costs. Companies must carefully evaluate their growth plans and consider developing core competencies through mergers and acquisitions. Ultimately, embracing sustainability and advanced analytics will be critical for success in this industry.

Materials: Metals and Mining

The metals and mining sector stands at the center of the energy transition drive, rewriting trade rules worldwide. This energy transition in the mid-to-long term will increase demand for raw materials and other unique challenges. The industry must innovate, find alternative sources, and re-strategize its R&D and growth plans to combat sustainable growth challenges. Digital technologies like remote operations, 2D materials, robotics, surface engineering, and smart materials will improve the mining scenario, especially for rare-earth minerals. Further, technological breakthroughs in the leaching process, block caving, and allied aspects will be in focus for the next five years to enhance the supply chain of raw materials.
ESG will play a key role in gaining trust among the stakeholders and attaining legal-social compliance. Further, the demand for new technologies in underground charging options, concrete spraying, and others for better safety and efficiency will complement the sustainable drive in this intensely fossil-fuel-dependent sector. Those who will ace these points will sustain the market shift and a decisive edge in competition and innovation.

Construction & Building Materials

Construction industry technology disruptions are driven by decarbonization, digitalization, and product-based approach. Industry participants are exploring alternate low-carbon materials and alternative fuels for the sustainable production of blocks of cement along with lightweight materials to enable ease of modular construction. Several pilot projects focus on carbon capture technology for emission reduction, CO2 curing, etc. There is also a dire need to speed up the completion of projects through advanced methods like pre-cast or modularization, Building Information Modelling (BIM), robotics, digital fabrication, and so on. The future of the construction sector will be defined by energy-efficient sustainable buildings, construction practices, 3D printing techs, and industry 4.0 technologies. Adopting industry 4.0 technologies will enable data-driven optimization of buildings and faster decision-making by minimizing the risks through digital twin technologies.

Adhesives & Coatings

The growth of the adhesives and sealants sector will be primarily driven by the packaging industry, followed by transportation and construction. It will increase as e-Commerce, purchasing power, and end-user spending limits peak, which will happen in the next few years. The only key to sustaining market shifts is to adopt sustainable products like biobased adhesives, VoC-free adhesives, etc. Then there is the challenge of transforming on norms of Industry 4.0 and controlling costs through this shift. The survival of the fittest will depend on those who will get a crack at these aspects.

Forest Products, Paper & Packaging

Chemical Industry is focused on creating value by making critical portfolio choices. To meet the sustainable goals for them and their customers, businesses are strategizing a carbon reduction roadmap that includes emission reduction and waste monetization and investing in R&D to leverage the advances of recycling technologies. The pandemic has pushed businesses to reposition their asset portfolios and balance trade-offs between strategic options of finding new product scope and growth opportunities.

The growth dynamics of businesses are under pressure to optimize and adopt rapidly emerging trends such as chemical synthesis, green chemistry approach, energy-saving polymer, eco-friendly agrochemicals, and formulation & performance innovation in specialty chemicals. With enablers such as sensors, cognitive computing, and analytics, digital transformation is taking the chemical industry towards a more economic solution for an efficient process of designing novel products.

Paints & Coating

The paints & coatings segment correlates with millennials’ increasing home ownership and purchasing power. Currently, sustainability and a heavy inclination towards health & safety drive the demand for sustainable products and innovation in this field. It is a highly regulated market that will need some more time to complete its shift to the greener end. Therefore, innovations like smart paint & coatings, biobased paint & coatings, VoC-free paint coatings, etc., will need some more time to become a norm. Performance and productivity are other aspects driving innovations in this industry. The focus is on providing the same or better performance for less price, less energy, and less time. Businesses need to develop durable paint and coatings to provide longer product life and maintain the same performance or appearance with or without less maintenance. Anticorrosion, Anti-dust, or self-healing are some attributes that must be actively explored or researched.

Agrochemicals & Oleo Chemicals

Chemical Industry is focused on creating value by making critical portfolio choices. To meet the sustainable goals for them and their customers, businesses are strategizing a carbon reduction roadmap that includes emission reduction and waste monetization and investing in R&D to leverage the advances of recycling technologies. The pandemic has pushed businesses to reposition their asset portfolios and balance trade-offs between strategic options of finding new product scope and growth opportunities.

The growth dynamics of businesses are under pressure to optimize and adopt rapidly emerging trends such as chemical synthesis, green chemistry approach, energy-saving polymer, eco-friendly agrochemicals, and formulation & performance innovation in specialty chemicals. With enablers such as sensors, cognitive computing, and analytics, digital transformation is taking the chemical industry towards a more economic solution for an efficient process of designing novel products.