HVDC converters market is becoming an increasingly important domain across the energy landscape, which can be attributed to fast-paced digitalization, decarbonization and distributed generation efforts. HVDC systems offer the capability to efficiently transmit loads over long distances, which will result in product penetration across the global power infrastructure. Ongoing advancements in technology aimed to minimize transmission and distribution losses across the power supply network will stimulate HVDC converters industry trends over the forecast timeframe.
China HVDC Converters Market Size, By Configuration, 2018 & 2025 (USD Million)
Favorable government initiatives regarding the development of intra-regional and cross border transmission networks will offer considerable prospects for power component manufacturers worldwide. Modernization and revamping of the existing electric infrastructure across developed economies will stimulate the demand for reliable and more efficient AC to DC or DC to AC converters.
HVDC converters industry size is expected to witness remarkable growth owing to rising integration of renewable power generation technologies into the grid along with stringent norms to ensure energy efficiency. Reportedly, global power demand witnessed a 4% escalation in 2018, nearly twice as fast as overall energy demand.
Power generation from gas and coal-based power plants increased significantly over the past year, pushing up carbon emissions by 2.5%. Demand for air-conditioning during summer peeked in 2018, which was recorded as the fourth hottest year. Similarly, North America witnessed colder-than-average winters which resulted in the increased deployment of room-heating appliances. Globally surging power demand coupled with rising concerns towards CO2 emissions will be impactful factors driving HVDC converters market outlook, as renewable production rises.
Global technology and power companies have made continuous efforts to build robust energy transmission infrastructure that meet different types of power demand from commercial, residential and industrial customers. Product innovations and advancement of existing technology has been a common trend. Siemens had introduced an HVDC Plus system in 2017, based on full bridge topology. Apparently, the company had been working to build a system test center in Nuremberg for the development of innovative power converters for high-voltage transmission projects.
The Ultranet project in Germany was aimed at establishing a 340-kilometer DC line between North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg to transmit over 2,000 megawatts of power. TransnetBW in collaboration with Amprion had designed the project to transform a completely point-to-point connection into a HVDC transmission with three grid connection points in Lower Saxony in the north, Baden-Württemberg in the south and North Rhine-Westphalia in the west. Increasing deployment of such systems in the future will escalate HVDC converters industry share over the forecast timeline.
Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has recently appointed ABB to build new HVDC converter stations to provide additional 200 megawatt of electricity to Jeju island, for powering over 500,000 houses. ABB will deploy its VSC technology driven HVDC Light for the project, owing to the fact that HVDC is the most cost-effective, environment friendly and efficient method for transmission of large amounts of power over long distances, with negligible power losses. Growing deployment of HVDC converters along such mega projects globally will transform HVDC converters market substantially.
United States and China are considered as two of the world’s largest electric power markets and accounted for almost 70% of global demand growth in the previous year. China experienced a surge in power demand by 8.5% in 2018, whereas the demand hopped up by nearly 4% in the United States, which can be attributed to a colder-than-average winter and a hotter summer. Unpredictable climatic conditions along with global rise in power demand due to increase in the usage of electronic devices is anticipated to bolster HVDC converters industry size over the analysis period.
Owing to rising deployment of renewable power generation projects and stringent emission control regulations, HVDC converter products are expected to witness tremendous adoption, in line with the escalating power consumption rate and ongoing advancement in electrical infrastructure. Reports estimate that global HVDC converters market share will exceed USD 13 billion by 2025. ABB, C-EPRI, Toshiba, General Electric and Siemens are some of the key players outlining the industry’s competitive landscape.