Advanced Process Control Market Size, Share and Trends Analysis Report By Product Type (Hardware, Software, Service), By End Use, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025

Report Overview

The global advanced process control market size to be valued at USD 24.9 billion by 2025 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.2% from 2019 to 2025. The market is anticipated to be primarily driven by the growing emphasis of end-use industries such as petrochemical and nuclear power on safety, improvement, and optimization of their processes. Advanced process control (APC) systems enable process industries to effectively reduce production time, assure the production of better quality products, and improve on fronts such as efficiency, cost, and safety of process plant operations. The growing demand from users, coupled with the rising adoption of processing practices focused on quality owing to the ever-increasing competitiveness in the market, has led to substantial growth in the installation of APC software for product development.

APC systems also support quality improvement, enabling processing organizations to retain their competitive edge. However, small-scale organizations are anticipated to refrain from using APCs due to a lack of skilled professionals and the need for high initial investments. The increasing complexity of manufacturing and processing systems is also projected to be one of the key factors expected to drive the growth of the market over the forecast period. Advanced process control systems are deployed to stabilize industrial operations and optimize plant performance by minimizing the fluctuations of key process variables. Some of the advantages of advanced process control systems include enhanced monitoring of process parameters (pressure, temperature), improved process safety, reduction in consumption of electricity, and increased productivity.

Advanced process control systems provide predictive maintenance (inspect, isolate, and resolve problems without increasing the burden on operating staff) and also enable quick modification of the production model as per the requirement in real-time, without the need to take the controller off-line. These benefits have made APC systems crucial for several industries such as chemical, oil and gas, and petrochemical. Organizations are making considerable investments in the APC technology to reduce errors and to integrate a higher number of variables at a time for better control over processes, thereby ensuring customer satisfaction.

Advanced Process Control Market Trends

The increasing need for automation solutions across various sectors is one of the primary drivers of the growth in the global market. The demand for automation solutions is increasing as most sectors adopt these solutions to make business models as efficient as possible. The advanced process control industry is driven by rising demand from end-user industries such as energy & electricity, pharmaceuticals, metals, food & drinks, mining, and minerals. The food and beverage producers use APS’s extensive process engineering design skills for pasteurization, aseptic, hot fill, extended shelf life, batching, blending, and CIP equipment.

High initial cash outflow and investments for R&D of the business are anticipated to limit the market expansion in the coming years. The development pace of the market is expected to be slowed further by the reluctance of start-up enterprises to switch from traditional processes to advanced process controls due to a lack of finances and skilled specialists.

During the forecast period, the growing use of cutting-edge technologies such as cloud computing, big-data analysis, and industrial automation is projected to provide growth opportunities for key players and new entrants in the market. Advanced big data analytics supports data virtualization by employing cloud technologies and helps organizations integrate data by obtaining and manipulating data collected from several industrial machine nodes, tiers, and clusters, making it a crucial factor for business expansion

Product Type Insights

In terms of product type, the APC market is segmented into hardware, software, and service. Of these, the service segment accounted for the dominant share of the market in 2018. APC services are expected to witness a considerable rise in demand during the forecast period owing to the large installed base of advanced process control systems in developed regions such as North America and Europe.

However, the hardware segment is projected to expand at a higher CAGR over the forecast period. The segment is further categorized into control systems, interface and display, computing systems, and others. Hardware components of an APC system comprise controllers, computers, and electronic systems that enable efficient monitoring and feedback signaling through intelligent sensors. Increasing usage of APC systems in the chemical and petrochemical industries is expected to drive the growth of the segment soon.

End-Use Insights

In terms of end-use, the market has been segmented into oil and gas, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, energy & power, mining, minerals, and metals, food & beverages, and others. Of these, the oil and gas segment captured the largest market share in 2018 and is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period as well owing to the high adoption of APC systems in the industry. This can be attributed to the fact that processing operations in the oil and gas industry are complex and need to be regulated on a real-time basis. Earlier, computation of the complex data associated with various operations required to be manually done, which was often associated with a vast scope of error. To avoid these manual errors, the oil and gas industry has started adopting advanced process controls and is likely to remain a leading end-user of APC systems soon as well.

However, the oil and gas industry needs to attain a low margin of error to maintain a safe working environment, necessitating the use of advanced process controls. Also, changing the regulatory framework of the industry makes the adoption of APC systems crucial. While the oil and gas industry is likely to remain a key end-use segment for the market, the chemicals sector is also expected to provide promising growth opportunities. APC systems support the growth of the chemical and petrochemical industries by increasing productivity and reducing the cost of transportation and production to increase users’ profit margins.

Regional Insights

In the year 2018, the European regional advanced processing control market accounted for approximately 34.10% of the overall market industry to the high adoption of APC systems across the chemical, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, and oil & gas sectors in the region. Furthermore, chemical manufacturers are making considerable investments for the enhancement and customized installation of APC tools to optimize their operating processes. The European market is followed by the North America market owing to the ongoing technological advancements such as automation in processing industries and application of APC in hydraulics fracturing of shale gas formation. The significant adoption rate in nuclear power plants and the semiconductor industry also add up to the growth prospects of the APC market in North America.

However, Asia Pacific is expected to emerge as the fastest-growing regional APC market owing to the increasing demand for advanced process control tools from various end-use industries. The growth of industries such as paints and coatings, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals in emerging economies such as India and China is playing a significant role in the overall development of the market. Moreover, growing environmental awareness among end-user industries and strict legal regulations are also driving the adoption of advanced process control systems in the region.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The vendor landscape of the market is largely consolidated as a few companies collectively account for a significant share in the industry. The technologically complex nature of the advanced process control industry, coupled with the fact that the industry has reached a phase of maturity, is expected to continue to keep it highly competitive soon as well.

Some of the leading advanced process control vendors globally are Schneider Electric, Siemens, Rudolph Technologies, Aspen Technology, Inc., Emerson Electric Co., ABB, Yokogawa Electric Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Rockwell Automation, Inc., and Honeywell International Inc. To capture a larger market share, key advanced process control vendors are adopting strategies such as partnerships, mergers & acquisitions, providing better services, and maintaining competitive prices for their products and services. The majority of the industry leaders are focusing on acquisition, primarily with the intent of maintaining the consolidated state of the market.

Recent Developments

• In February 2023, ABB launched ABB Ability™ Symphony® Plus distributed control system (DCS). Symphony® Plus aimed to provide a simplified and secure connection to the edge and cloud through OPC UA1, without interfering with core control and automation functionalities.

• In October 2022, Emerson launched the Advanced Dust Pulse Technology Control System. The ASCOTM DPT Control System improves efficiency and optimizes performance by providing accurate and reliable particulate monitoring and early warning leak detection. 

• In January 2022, Schneider Electric announced a collaboration with Royal HaskoningDHV on next-generation process control. The collaboration aimed to provide domestic and industrial wastewater customers with seamless integration of IT/OT services and improved system diagnostics.

Advanced Process Control Market Report Scope

Global Advanced Process Control Market Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growth at the global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends from 2014 to 2025 for each of the sub-segments. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the advanced process control market report based on product type, end-use, and region.

• Product Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2014 - 2025)

  • Hardware

    • Control Systems

    • Interface and Display

    • Computing Systems

    • Others

  • Software

  • Service

• End-Use Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2014 - 2025)

  • Oil and Gas

  • Chemicals

  • Pharmaceuticals

  • Energy & Power

  • Mining, Minerals, and Metals

  • Food & Beverages

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Billion, 2014 - 2025)

  • North America

    • The U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • U.K.

    • Germany

    • France

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

  • Middle East & Africa