Testing Inspection and Certification Market Trends

Growth Drivers

• Global energy transition and infrastructure upgrades: TIC services are gradually becoming popular as the world economy turns to green energy systems and enhanced infrastructures. Today, more and more governments and private sectors require TIC providers to ensure structural integrity, energy performance, and compliance with environmental standards. In January 2025, Kiwa PVEL and Kiwa PI Berlin published a white paper that aimed at outlining the standards of PV module quality to enhance the bankability of solar projects. The paper outlines rigorous testing benchmarks critical for performance assurance in renewable energy systems. Such development demonstrates how the TIC industry is aligning itself with global sustainability goals by offering testing frameworks that directly impact investment viability.

• Digitization of assurance services and AI integration: The integration of AI and digital technologies is enhancing TIC capabilities across diagnostics, testing, and predictive maintenance. TIC firms are developing AI-based solutions to improve real-time compliance and enhance systems. In July 2024, Bureau Veritas acquired Security Innovation Inc. to expand its cybersecurity and software testing capabilities. This is also in line with testing, inspection, and certification market trends where TIC players are being called upon to provide more bundled solutions in the validation of security. Such acquisitions are evidence of the growing trend towards tech-oriented assurance solutions that protect digital environments.

• Surging food and consumer product compliance demand: The growth of TIC services in food and consumer sectors is due to increasing global trade and quality standards and consumer safety concerns. Regulatory tightening across geographies fuels localized testing needs and traceability systems. In March 2025, Merieux NutriSciences completed the acquisition of Bureau Veritas’ food testing activities across Japan, Morocco, Southeast Asia, and South Africa. The acquisition enables more localized testing capacity with globally harmonized quality standards. It supports the emerging trend of TIC services in food safety and emphasizes the importance of TIC suppliers in the supply chain.

Challenges

• Fragmented standards and cross-border compliance complexity: The globalization of TIC business brings a major problem of managing the inconsistent national regulation of the industry. These varying regional certification requirements create obstacles to establishing unified testing protocols, leading to increased compliance costs for multinational clients. This fragmentation of the standards not only complicates the TIC processes but also makes it challenging for business entities to have a smooth flow of operations across the borders, which in turn may affect the efficiency and market entry of businesses operating in the global testing, inspection, and certification market.

• Talent shortage and specialized skills gap: The rapid advancement of TIC applications, particularly in emerging fields like AI testing, battery validation, and renewable infrastructure, has created a demand for specialized skillsets. However, there is a notable scarcity of talent in areas such as inspection engineering and quality systems testing. This talent shortage is a risk factor for the growth of TIC services as it may hinder the industry’s capacity to satisfy the expanding needs of sectors that require skilled and knowledgeable professionals. Closing these skills gaps is therefore imperative to sustain the TIC sector growth and its ability to adapt to new technology and compliance demands.