Page 14 - ITAtube Journal 3 2024

Market information
exploration incorporating various drilling
alternatives (figure13).
CCUS will also require new pipelines to
allow the scalability of such technology.
Pipelines can be expanded and intercon-
nected to create CO2 networks that link
multiple sources of emissions to cen-
tralized storage locations. This network
approach reduces costs by sharing infra-
structure across industries, making CCUS
more viable and attractive for widespread
adoption. By leveraging existing pipeline
technologies and developing new infra-
structure for CO2 transport, we can accel-
erate the deployment of CCUS projects
and contribute to global emissions reduc-
tion goals. Despite the benefits, there
are challenges. High upfront costs, public
acceptance, and regulatory approval are
significant hurdles to building new CO2
pipelines. Additionally, as more CCUS
projects come online, it’s crucial to ensure
that pipelines can meet the growing
demand for CO2 transport, which requires
strategic planning and investment in infra-
structure. The technological acceptance of
such technologies seems to raise not only
in the US and Middle East but also else-
where in the world.
Hydrogen pipelines will create further
additional markets for steel tubes (figure
12).
The automotive market, accounts for
around 15% of the global tube and pipe
market. With most car manufacturers and
many of their suppliers now reporting that
overall car sales figures are slowly rising
again - with global deliveries expected to
reach 82 million units by the end of the
year 2024.
As the macroeconomic outlook for the
automotive industry deteriorates, a
modest return to growth in new car sales
is expected over the next three years. ABI
Research forecasts global vehicle sales
growth of 11.5% in 2025. Furthermore, car
manufacturers can expect sales to exceed
the 92 million units’ level again in 2025
(Figure 14).
In terms of regional growth in vehicle
sales, according to IHS, the recovery
process in the volume markets of Europe
and North America will take longer. Future
growth will primarily take place in Asia,
particularly in China. However, China could
increasingly become a sales problem for
the western automotive industry due to
the American decoupling tendencies and
the strengthening local car industry in
China.
However, the tendency to further reduce
the weight of vehicles supports the trend
towards the use of tubular products. The
transition to electromobility BEV (Battery
Equipped Vehicles) and PHEV (Plug-in
Hybrid Electric Vehicles) can also support
the use of tubular components, as the
additional weight of the batteries must
be compensated as far as possible. The
automotive industry offers many attrac-
tive applications for tubular products. The
slight decrease of cars with combustion
engines (ICE - Internal Combustion Vehi-
Figure 15: Global Exports of Mechanical Engineering
cles), as indicated in figure 14 may be
Source: ExportPlanning Information System
questioned, since many recent forecasts
14 ITAtube Journal December 2024
Figure 14: Global Sales by Powertrain 2022-2027 (million units)
Source: ABI Research