Industry Focus: Driven by energy conservation and intelligentization, China’s closed cooling tower market is ushering in a new wave of upgrades
With the deepening implementation of the national "dual carbon" strategy and the increasing demand for energy efficiency in the industrial sector, the market for closed cooling towers, key equipment for industrial circulating water cooling, is experiencing strong growth and a clear trend of technological upgrades. The industry is focusing on high efficiency and energy conservation, intelligent control, and the need to adapt to new materials and processes.
Key Trend 1: Policies are driving energy-saving and water-saving closed cooling towers to become mainstream in the market.
News Highlights:
Under the guidance of policies such as the "Industrial Water Efficiency Improvement Action Plan" jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and other departments, traditional cooling equipment with high water and energy consumption is being phased out. Closed cooling towers have gained significant market momentum due to their low evaporation losses, significant water savings (over 20% compared to open cooling towers), high circulating water quality requirements, and protection of core equipment.
Market Performance:
Major mainstream manufacturers, such as SPX, BAC, and Evapco, as well as leading domestic companies such as Yuanheng and Lanxun, have focused their R&D efforts on:
High-efficiency heat exchange tube design: Using more efficient hydrophilic membrane aluminum tubes or internally corrugated externally threaded copper tubes improves heat exchange efficiency.
Increasing Popularity of Variable Frequency Drive Technology: Fans and sprinkler pumps generally adopt variable frequency drive technology, automatically adjusting speed based on the ambient wet-bulb temperature for precise energy savings, with an overall energy saving rate of 30%-50%.
Structural Optimization: Using lightweight, high-strength materials and optimizing air duct design reduces fan energy consumption.
Source: You can search for "Industrial Water Efficiency Improvement Action Plan - Closed Cooling Towers" to access the original policy text and interpretations.
Core Dynamics 2: Smart Manufacturing and Digital Transformation: The "Smart Cooling Tower" Concept Takes Root
News Highlights:
The Internet of Things, big data, and cloud platform technologies are deeply integrated with closed-circuit cooling towers, driving the product's transformation from "functional" to "intelligent."
Technical Applications:
Remote Monitoring and Alerts: Users can monitor cooling tower operating parameters (water temperature, pressure, flow rate, fan frequency, etc.) in real time via a mobile app or desktop cloud platform. The system uses algorithms to provide fault warnings and energy efficiency analysis, enabling predictive maintenance.
Unattended and Automatic Operation: The intelligent control system automatically adjusts operating conditions based on process requirements and environmental conditions, maintaining the most energy-efficient operating range while ensuring cooling performance.
Data Value Mining: Long-term operating data helps companies manage energy and equipment lifecycles, providing data support for subsequent energy-saving improvements.
Industry Impact: This represents not only a product upgrade but also a transformation of the business model. Manufacturers are transforming from equipment suppliers to providers of comprehensive "equipment + services" solutions.
Information Source: You can follow the "Solutions" or "Success Stories" sections on the official websites of major cooling tower brands, which often showcase their latest intelligent projects.
Core Trend 3: Emerging Application Areas Expand, Injecting New Impetus into Industry Development
News Highlights:
In addition to traditional industries such as metallurgy, power generation, and chemicals, the application of closed cooling towers is rapidly expanding in emerging sectors such as new energy, data centers, and biopharmaceuticals.
Specific Examples:
New Energy: In processes such as lithium battery material production and photovoltaic silicon material preparation, extremely high requirements are placed on cooling water purity and temperature control precision. The closed-circulation nature of closed cooling towers perfectly meets these requirements.
Data Center: As a crucial component of liquid cooling systems, closed cooling towers are used to cool the circulating coolant in servers. Their reliability and energy efficiency are directly related to the data center's Power Use Effectiveness (PUE) rating.
Biopharmaceuticals: Production environments require a sterile and contamination-free environment. Closed cooling towers prevent direct contact between cooling water and air, effectively preventing bacteria and impurities from entering the system.
Recent Market Events and Manufacturer Updates (Can be used as news entry points)
Technology Exhibitions: At the recent China International Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, Heating, Ventilation, and Food Refrigeration Processing Exhibition (China Refrigeration), several companies showcased their latest closed-circuit cooling tower products and intelligent control systems, attracting a large number of professional visitors.
Company News: Several leading domestic companies announced the launch of new intelligent production lines, aiming to improve product consistency and production efficiency to meet market growth.