Frost and Sullivan analyses electric-drives market

Frost and Sullivan has conducted analysis on the electric-drives market in the European chemical industry and has covered the technology behind AC, DC and servo drives in its research.

The analysis has found that the market earned revenues of USD147m (GBP90m) in 2008 and estimates this to reach USD187.6m in 2015.

John Leo Ignatius, a Frost and Sullivan research analyst, said: 'The heightened demand for energy efficiency and greener manufacturing has spurred the uptake of electric drives by the European chemical industry.

'The need for improved reliability and added flexibility in process-control applications - achievable through electric drives - within a chemical plant has boosted market prospects,' he added.

In the European Union (EU), energy prices for industrial applications are showing an upward trend, according to the company.

The average energy price for industrial applications in the EU's 27 countries rose 23.9 per cent in 2008 compared to 2007.

As a result, chemical customers are considering the use of variable-speed drives in their plant optimisation programmes as an energy-efficient measure.

Ignatius said: 'A product portfolio encompassing complete automation solutions and electric drives of all power ranges is key to growth in the electric-drives market in the European chemical industry.

'Electric-drive manufacturers are augmenting their existing portfolios by producing drives in higher power ranges.

'The concept of modular technology in electric drives has enabled electric-drive manufacturers to customise their offerings according to end-user specifications,' he added.

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