Chemical companies face rising volatility, weak demand and structural challenges. AI-powered reinvention can offer a path to faster growth, lower costs and greater competitiveness by transforming how work gets done.
Chemical customers are willing to pay a premium if their product and service needs are fully met, presenting an opportunity for suppliers to strengthen relationships and generate new value.
The chemical industry is shifting to sustainability-related products, with demand growing 4.5 times faster than conventional ones. Companies must revise their market strategies to capitalize on this opportunity.
The chemical industry faces acute labor shortages because the talent pool is shrinking, but the industry remains heavily reliant on manual work. Therefore, realizing labor productivity potential will be decisive for business continuity and future growth.
Rising demand for sustainability-related products will create a huge growth opportunity for chemical companies.
Companies in the materials industry – including chemical companies – are seeing a revolution that is likely to drive a new wave of growth. To succeed, however, they will need to rethink their value chains, expand manufacturing in the region, and take advantage of digitally powered approaches to innovation.
Every year, the chemical industry sees hundreds of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Traditional M&A drivers, such as consolidation and portfolio extension, are still important. But many transactions also show that the nature of M&A is evolving, as chemical companies look for ways to contend with ongoing volatility and move to a more sustainable future.
The EU Green Deal sets a high bar for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and its impact will be felt across industries. But the chemical sector’s unique nature means that it will be more deeply affected than other industries – and more deeply involved in making net zero a reality, as well.
To take advantage of the opportunity hydrogen presents, the European chemical industry must engage in the emerging hydrogen market now, setting up specific pilots, develop an appropriate partner and ecosystem network and, most crucially, adapt the R&D portfolios and investment plans needed to capture a share of the hydrogen opportunity.
