In their paper published by the research repository ResearchGate.com, a group of scholars led by Oscar Lucia of the University of Zaragoza in Spain writes, “Induction heating (IH) technology is nowadays the heating technology of choice in many industrial, domestic, and medical applications due to its advantages regarding efficiency, fast heating, safety, cleanness, and accurate control.”
Lucia and his colleagues add that induction heating has become more readily available in recent years owing to technological advances, including magnetic component design, control techniques, and power electronics.
Intrigued by conclusions such as these, we took some time to learn about the state of industrial induction heating today. We believe there is no better way to tell a story than through numbers. After all, we’ve all heard that numbers don’t lie.
The article will begin by defining what industrial induction heating is. We provide a bird’s eye view of the industry using some quick statistics. This is then followed by the numbers relating to the industry’s market size, sales revenues, regions targeted by suppliers, emerging technologies, and future forecasts.
Some Quick Statistics
- The discovery of induction heating is attributed to Michael Faraday, an English scientist, in 1831.
- The total revenue from the induction heating market in North America is estimated at $124.8 million in 2022.
- The total value of the induction heating market in Europe is $113.4 million in 2022
- In China, the induction heating market is estimated at $74.1 million in 2022.
- Industrial induction furnace capacities range from less than 1 ton to over 100 tons.
- Regarding capacity, the 1-ton induction furnaces constitute the largest segment, with a share of more than 68 percent of all furnaces produced.
- With a share of more than 98 percent, industrial manufacturing is the largest segment in terms of application.
- Induction heating applications can use temperatures ranging between 100⁰C (212°F) and 3000⁰C (>5400°F).
Induction heating can bring long metal rods and sheets to temperatures as high as 2500 °C.
What is Industrial Induction Heating?
Induction heating involves using electromagnetic heating techniques to heat materials such as metals or other semiconductors.
ScienceAid.com defines electromagnetic heating by first noting that in traditional heating procedures, the metal parts are directly warmed by an open flame or source of heat.
The same source notes, “On the contrary, in induction heating, by circulating electrical currents, heat is induced into the object.” The process uses electromagnetic waves to transmit the heat to the object or parts of the object that need to be heated.
Now that we have an idea of what induction heating is, we can attempt to define industrial induction heating as the heating of materials using electromagnetic heat within an industrial setting as opposed to induction cooking in a domestic setting.
The Induction Heater
The process of induction heating happens within a device known as an induction heater, which usually has three components:
- The power unit: is typically called a generator or invertor. It is responsible for increasing the mains frequency to between 10 Hz and 400 kHz, with the general output of these units ranging from 2 kW to 500 kW.
- Work workhead or furnace: connects the work coil to the power unit.
- Work coil: is also called the inductor and is the mechanism through which energy is transferred from the workhead and power unit to the workpiece.
Common Applications
Some common examples where industrial induction heating is used include:
- Preheating materials before welding: is sometimes necessary when part of the welding procedure requires that the base metal be heated to a specific temperature.
- Tool and die-making: induction heating helps heat the tool to a specific temperature before dipping it in oil or water to harden.
- Shrink fitting: involves the targeted heating of one component to temperatures of between 150 °C and 300 °C so that it expands, allowing another part to be fitted or removed.
- Localized parts heating to allow annealing: is a process of heating glass or metal so it can cool down slowly, removing internal stresses and making it tougher.
- Soldering: is used for melting an alloy using electromagnetic fields so that it can be attached to another metal.
Brazing: involves joining together two or more metals using a filler metal melted using electromagnetic heating.
The Induction Furnace Market Size
Several research companies have crunched the numbers to determine the induction furnace market size. Some of the organizations with extensive reports include the likes of The Business Research Council, Fact.MR, 360 Research Reports, and Market Reports World.
Like all other sectors of the economy, the global industrial induction market was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. A report from MarketReportsWorld.com suggests that the estimated size of the global induction melting furnace market of $942.9 million in 2022 would have been larger had it not been for the restrictions and disturbances attributable to the pandemic.
The same source puts the market size by 2028 at $1193.1 million, representing a CAGR of 4.0 percent during the forecast period of 2022 to 2028.
What Will Drive Growth?
Future Market Insights provides insights on the drivers spearheading growth in the induction furnace market. The source reports, “Induction furnaces driven by electricity have emerged as a boon for the metal manufacturing sectors, particularity for small-scale extractors.”
The same source adds that this boom can be attributed to induction heating’s “energy-efficient processing attributes and easy availability in small to large capacity ….”
It is also expected that rapid electrification and the rise in the trend of Industry 4.0 will have a positive impact on growth in the induction heating sector. Added to this, Future Market Insights notes that governments across the world are supporting industrial automation as a way of expanding their manufacturing sectors.
Spurred By Demand for Clean Energy
One condition that no industry today can escape is the need to be environmentally friendly. For example, Fact.MR.com, a market research and business intelligence provider, suggests that the growth in heat indication will be spurred by the need for entirely fossil-free devices. This has led to a proliferation of magnetic heat induction devices, especially both in the industrial and domestic sectors.
Because induction heating only targets the material that needs to be heated, there is no heat loss, making the method energy efficient. This is an observation acknowledged by MyGreenMontgomery.org, which notes that up to 50 percent of energy can be saved using induction heating instead of traditional heat sources.
In induction heating, all the energy you produce goes towards heating the target. As soon as the target is heated to an appropriate temperature, no more energy is used.
Dynamics of Growth per Region
In explaining America’s top position at $ 124.8 million in the induction heating devices market, FactMR.com focuses on the fact that a growing consciousness relating to sustainability is driving the market towards this form of heating.
The same source forecasts, “The United States is anticipated to witness high magnetic induction heating device sales owing to the increasing scope of application of induction heating technologies.”
One thing that almost all reports agree on is that the Asia Pacific region is a fast-growing area for industrial induction heating. If you consider that this is the region in which China is located, you will understand why it’s growing so fast. In the last couple of decades, the Chinese economy has grown at a rapid pace, at times almost reaching 10 percent.
FactMR.com suggests that the market size of $74.1 million in 2022 in the Chinese market can be attributed to “Supportive government initiatives and the rising adoption of clean energy technologies [that] will drive demand in this country throughout the forecast period.”
In Europe, where the induction heating market has a market share of 21.9% and is estimated at $113.4 million, FactMR.com cites supportive government initiatives as the major driver for growth.
The Future of Industrial Induction Heat
The industrial induction heating industry is expected to grow in the next few years. As companies come under pressure in the future to show consumers that they are doing everything in their power to adopt environmentally friendly processes, the use of induction heating will increase.
The Business Research Company posits, “Strategic partnerships are the key trend gaining popularity in the induction furnace market.” The same source adds, “Companies operating in induction furnaces are undergoing partnerships to strengthen their position in the market.”
Also, technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) will be important for industrial induction heating. For example, a paper published by the Prior Art Database focuses on AI- and IoT-based selective heating using the induction heating method.
Even though the Prior Art Database is about indication heating in relation to food, it can be expected that these technologies will influence the direction of industrial induction heating.
