WaterGlobal water market could hit $800 billion by 2035

Analysts are predicting that the global market for water could grow dramatically over the next two decades, with some projecting a $1 trillion market in 2020.

“Water is the fastest growing market at the moment, with a size of $500 billion globally,” said Harri Kerminen, the president and CEO of Finnish chemical firm Kemira.

“Most of that growth is in South America and Asia. By 2035, we estimate 50 percent of the whole market will be in Asia, and it could be worth $600 to $800 billion,” he said.

South America and Asia are expected to see the most growth due to their strong economic potential, the impacts of climate change, rising populations, and stricter energy and water regulations.

“The problem is, the water is the wrong quality in the wrong place. Just 1 percent is available for industrial and society use,” Kerminen explained. “If nothing is done, there will be a 40 percent gap between supply and demand by 2030.”

Kerminen said one of the key drivers for growth in the market is the integration of water and energy sectors.

“Water and energy are the two big issues of our times, and there is a lot we can do to combine these two sectors that help us become more efficient,” he said. “In industrial applications, water and energy are always connected.”

For instance, Kerminen pointed to the potential of turning waste water into drinking water and then using the waste as a biomass to burn as an energy source.

In St. Petersburg, Russia, Kemira built a waste water treatment plant that recycles nitrogen and phosphorous from sludge to be reused as artificial fertilizers in plant production. Kerminen said phosphorus is a non-renewable natural resource, which could run out in the next twenty to thirty years.

It takes eight kilowatt hours of energy to produce one kilogram of phosphorus making recycling an energy-efficient way of obtaining phosphorous.

“We could also re-use a lot more water than we do at the moment from what is separated from minerals in the mining sector,” he added.

In the future as water needs grow, Kerminen believes that the long-term solution is to re-treat waste water to obtain drinking water as it requires less energy than desalination.He was careful to note that “new regulations need to be developed to make sure [the process] is safe.”

“At the moment, there is not enough pressure cost-wise so people don’t act. But within 10 to 20 years, more of these solutions are needed.”

As a signal of the strength of the global water market, Kemira changed its business strategy to focus more on water and now 75 percent of its revenue comes from water treatment.

Last year the company reported revenues of 2.2 billion euros.