Self-Compacting Concrete Market - Forecasts from 2024 to 2029

The self-compacting concrete market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.42% during the forecast period.

Self-compacting concrete is a type of concrete that can flow under its weight and does not require external vibration to undergo compaction. The usage of self-compacting concrete is in the places where it is hard to use vibrators for consolidation of concrete. Material that is used in self-compacting concrete are cement, aggregates, water, mineral admixtures, and chemical admixtures. Major advantages of self-compacting concrete are such as, the permeability of the structure is decreased, it helps to get the freedom in designing structures, and the construction is relatively faster. Further, problems associated with vibration are eliminated along with saving cost. The quality, durability, and reliability of the structure are increased compared to normal concrete structures.

The major driving factors of the self-compacting concrete market is due to the rising construction and increased investments in multiple countries. The renovation and improvements in the present infrastructure can be done by self-compacting concrete. Stable and durable structures can be constructed using self-compacting concrete. The different countries across the world are investing in their infrastructures and sustainable development.

• Under Germany's Presidency, the G7 launched the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) which aims to reduce the huge investment gap for sustainable infrastructure in developing countries. They have US$ 600 billion of public and private funds by 2027 for this purpose. Different countries are aiming for funds for the projects such as, the USA providing 200 billion dollars, Japan pledged US$65 billion, and the UK 40 billion pounds. These funds would go into the long-term sustainable infrastructure in specific sectors.
• The Republic of Korea's infrastructure investment is US$5,964 million in transport, US$2,746 million in water infrastructure, and US$1,806 million in social infrastructure.
• Italy made the infrastructure pipelines for the upcoming years, such as Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan for the year 2021 to 2026, which consisted of 132 investments and 58 reforms. This had a total outlay of investment of EUR15.3 billion. The fund of EUR242 billion is allocated for different modes of transport such as roads, railways, rapid transport, ports, and airports.
• Spain made the national strategic policies for the development of the infrastructure like EUR24 billion investment for the transport rail infrastructure from 2021-2026. Further, a recovery, transformation, and resilience plan for the modernization of the Spanish economy, for the investment through the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and REACT-EU.
• In Australia, the major public infrastructure spending was valued at $230 billion over five years, which was a 4% increase from 2022. Giving the growth in the sector.

SELF-COMPACTING CONCRETE MARKET DRIVERS:

• The growing residential construction sector

The growth in the construction industry is owing to the growing urbanization around the world and growing economic development in different parts of the world. A significant part of the development of construction goes for the building of houses, parks, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, schools, etc. for the population. The need in the construction is also needed for the development of megacities across the world. As the world is growing and getting urbanized, hence sustainable development depends increasingly on the growing infrastructure and construction activities.

The growth explains the dynamics of the industry. This increase in the demand for construction materials would not only increase employability in the manufacturing industry but also the overall demand for raw materials in the sector. The self-compacting concrete would be in demand by the industry for its high fluidity and construction of high-rise buildings. The application for self-compacting concrete is creating a smooth and dense surface in various structures like bridges, towers, pathways, pavements, and tunnels.

• Increasing infrastructure activities

Infrastructure projects like bridges, highways, dams, and tunnels can be developed using self-compacting concrete. Several ongoing and announced projects are outlined in the United States, for the robust development of the infrastructure. Such as a US$220 million project for the Howard Hanson Dam to help maintain flood risk management, increase municipal and industrial water supply to Tacoma Public Utility, a US$57.5 million for a reliable water supply facility for the 30,000 citizens in Montana, I-375 Reconnect Project in Detroit, Michigan, etc. Overall, there is US$461 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding for over 60,000 projects in the United States.

The improvements in the present infrastructure and the making of new infrastructure needed raw material application and manpower demand. The use of self-compacting concrete can be used for complex and intricate shapes and structures, whereas conventional concrete could leave some gaps and weaken the structure. The self-compacting concrete adheres tightly to the structure and helps maintain stability.

• Reduces labor costs and eliminates the use of vibration or consolidation processes

The use of self-compacting concrete gives numerous advantages over other conventional cement concrete. The unique property of the self-compacting concrete is to flow and fill the empty spaces in the structures. Due to its properties, it reduces the labor and machine component inputs. This would increase productivity, along with the reduced time of construction by decreasing the placing time. The use of self-compacting concrete would reduce the site manpower at various stages of construction faster pumping requires fewer manpower hours, smooth surface obtained from self-compacting concrete needs less labor for finishing purposes. Further, they are utilized for sustainable development models.

In July 2023, Holcim's partnership with Populus for its low-carbon goals. The project are using ECOPact concrete, which offers about 30% lower CO2 emissions compared to standard concrete. Populus aims to reduce its carbon footprint by practicing derived from extensive research and scientific studies. For the project with 5,100 cubic yards used for the superstructure beams, slabs, and other components, ECOPact mixes will account for 65% of the total volume. The project would also utilize Holcim's DYNAMax high-strength, self-compacting mixes.

• Asia Pacific region to dominate the self-compacting concrete market during the forecast period.

The major countries in the region like India, China, Japan, Korea, and Australia, play a vital role in the rapid economic growth and industrialization in the region. Furthermore, countries of ASEAN, like Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia, are having fast growth in the economy and increasing infrastructural development. The overall infrastructure development is taking place at a rapid pace owing to the projects like Belt and Road initiative by China.

India planned an investment of US$ 1.723 trillion in infrastructure between FY24 and FY30. This investment is for the development of power, roads, and developing industries like renewable energy and electric vehicles. In the aviation sector, the number of airports has reached 149, and Indian airlines have ordered more than a thousand new aircraft. Further, India has surpassed the number of billion-dollar real estate companies compared to China's real estate companies, according to the IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation). This development comes with India's logistics market which is estimated to be US$ 317.26 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach US$ 484.43 billion by 2029.

Additionally, China started 120 projects of expressways and national and provincial highways in the year 2022. Total investment reached 182 billion yuan (about 27 billion U.S. dollars). These efforts would promote investment, and stabilize economic growth and employment. All these rapid developments in the region would cause an increased demand for self-compacting concrete for construction as it does not require vibrations to settle and no extra work is necessary.

Self-compacting concrete market challenges:

• The high raw materials are one of the primary impediments to the growth of the market. The raw materials such as chemical and mineral admixtures are often subject to price volatility. These are costlier than conventional concrete construction materials. Another restriction to the market growth is the unavailability of any globally accepted standards. Measurement and monitoring must be more precise and need special assistance.

Self-compacting concrete market key developments:

• In July 2022, Orion Engineered Carbons, a s Holcim acquired five concrete plants of Ol-Trans, with estimated net sales of CHF 27 million. This would strengthen the company in Northern Poland. The acquisition is beneficial for customers looking for sustainable solutions like Agila Fibro, self-compacting concrete that reduces the use of steel reinforcement by 40%-50%. This acquisition would expand the footprint of ECOPact green concrete too.

The self-compacting concrete market is segmented and analyzed as follows:

By Type

• Powdered
• Viscosity Agent
• Combined

By Application

• Residential
• Commercial
• Infrastructural
• Others

By Geography

• North America
• USA
• Canada
• Mexico
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Rest of South America
• Europe
• United Kingdom
• Germany
• France
• Italy
• Spain
• Rest of Europe
• Middle East and Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• Rest of the Middle East and Africa
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• South Korea
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Indonesia
• Rest of Asia-Pacific