by Shane Henson — May 4, 2012—Frost & Sullivan, a company that enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership, recently released three big predictions for 2012 for the global energy and environment market. According to information in the report, titled What’s Hot in the Energy and Environment Industry, industrial convergence, smart technology and distributed generation will be the key topics in 2012 and beyond.
Based on a survey of several thousand companies conducted in December 2011, this research paper highlights areas of growth, says Frost & Sullivan.
“Data and opinions of key stakeholders, combined with analysis and commentary from Frost & Sullivan industry experts, have been used to present key market highlights, hot growth topics, global and regional hot spots, areas of market convergence, and bold predictions for 2012,” explains John Raspin, director and partner at Frost & Sullivan.
The key themes outlined in the report are:
Convergence and Value Chain integration: Energy and environment players see the greatest convergence today from within their own sector as well as the industrial automation and information and communications technology (ICT) industries, says Frost & Sullivan. Convergence is also highly significant between energy and automotive markets and relates primarily to the emergence of electric vehicles and e-mobility that is driving innovation in batteries, energy storage, transmission and distribution infrastructure, battery charging and integration of mobility into the smart home. Convergence opportunities exist also in the water sector driven by innovation among treatment technology, process control and automation and instrumentation sectors.
Value chains, less consolidated and stretching across hundreds of components, have been and are still presenting many opportunities in the renewable energy industry. Wind power is the most highly attractive segment to European companies. Solar PV still has a positive growth outlook but opportunities for European players are slowly vanishing as the global market becomes more dominated by Chinese players. Chemical and material companies have begun to take significant steps further down the value chain to acquire key technology and solution capabilities in the fast-growing and high-potential energy and environment markets.
Smart Technology: Smart technology is going to play a key role in the future development of the energy and environment sector, with efficiency improvements at the center of the market evolution, the report stresses. Smart grids, buildings, homes, cities and water networks will all become a reality this decade, thus creating far-reaching market growth opportunities.
Distributed generation: There is and will be increasing focus on the deployment of small-scale renewable energy close to the point of consumption, adds the report. This will create opportunities for suppliers of micro-generation technologies as well as require new strategies and business models from power generation companies and utilities. Growth of distributed generation, legislation surrounding this market, and the integration of distributed generation into the grid are emerging trends, especially in the developed markets.
