High voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission market to be worth $16.6Bn in2013

Tuesday 9 July 2013, Amsterdam

Our analysis indicates that the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission market will reach a value of $16,556.1m in 2013 as a wide range of projects worldwide, but especially in China, continue to be authorised and constructed.

High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission is the method of choice for the subsea transmission of electricity, the connection of disparate AC grids and/or the movement of bulk amounts of electrical power over vast distances.  In each of these three respects HVDC transmission is superior to its competitor HVAC (high voltage alternating current).

Composed of the capital expenditure upon HVDC transmission, this market is due for steady, incremental growth over the next 5 years. We anticipate, nevertheless, that some regions of the world, such as South East Asia and Africa, have the potential to attract significant investment given opportune political and regulatory circumstance.

The lead analyst of the HVDC transmission report commented that ‘the outlook for HVDC transmission is positive. The core drivers for spending on this method of transmission are in place: Chinese ambition, power balancing, energy efficiency gains, greater affordability for end users and the connection of renewables.  However, rigid regulation, right-of-way issues, political instability and political opposition to hydropower conspire to limit growth and amplify investment uncertainty and risk.’

Asia dominates the HVDC transmission market.  In China, the government’s ambition to connect hydropower resources in the South-West and coal reserves in the North-West to Eastern and South-Eastern cities is the prime agent of this dominance.  In addition, with fewer regulatory or right-of-way obstacles facing development than in Europe or North America, the Asian share of the HVDC transmission market declines relatively little during the next 10 years.  Lower barriers to project development, combined with low political instability, also make Asian HVDC investment outcomes more certain than any other region.

The majority of HVDC transmission constructed is of the point-to-point variety; with no integrated HVDC circuit breaker proven commercially viable, electricity can only be moved between two points. This limits potential.  Subsequently, it is used, for the most part, to connect large power resources, such as a hydroelectric power generation facilities, to load centres.  The ABB HVDC circuit breaker, announced in 2012, is a game-changer for the industry that could enable the creation of a HVDC grid.