Global Smart Grid-Enabling Products Market

Market Insights: A Selection From The Report

Projected Number of World Smart Meter Installations

Around the world, smart meter deployment plans are advanced in many countries, with deployments often being mandated nationally. For the European Union, all member nations are required to have smart meter deployments accomplished by 2022. In China, the deadline for national smart meter deployment is sooner, at 2020. The United Kingdom is also requiring complete smart meter rollout by 2020. The trend in Europe is that its share of spending on Advanced Information and Performance Controls, which includes smart meters, will gradually increase from 2% in 2010 to 13% in 2013 before stabilizing at about 10% by 2015. The bulk of its spending will largely be in Sensing and Response products.

But of all the countries with smart meter deployment plans, South Korea is so far the most advanced. South Korea calls for 100% AMI smart meter deployment by 2020—and a fully realized smart grid by 2030. Note that South Korea is also a big promoter of PHEVs. As soon as 2012 it hopes to have 500,000 elect ric vehicles on the road. By 2030 the plan is to have 2.5 million PHEVs on the road along with total vehicle-to-grid integration. Japan will garner a larger share of the global sales for electric vehicle infrastructure manufacturing by 2014 as it capitalizes on its large installed base of automobile manufacturers and commitment to cleaner energy resources. Asia as a whole will comprise nearly one-quarter of the global manufacturing industry by 2014. China has enjoyed a 65% share of the industry for X years, but SBI Energy expects its share to fall to below 50% by 2014 as India and Japan emerge as competitive nations by embracing electricity to power their public transportation systems and turn to EVs as cleaner alternatives to internal combustion engine (ICE) automobiles.

Technology Drivers

Advanced digital information and communications technology provides a strong basis for Smart Grid market growth. Basic technology has already been developed for everything from smart meters to smart appliances and networked homes. Moreover, smart grid applications and services will only get more sophisticated as technology develops. Related technological advances in distributed generation, particularly in renewable energy, will also drive smart grid market growth. These shifts in the technological foundations of the grid will have profound implications for the old centralized business models on which utilities currently operate.

Technology-based products in the Advanced Information and Performance Control sector will increasingly take market share away from other Smart Grid-enabler products sectors, most notably Sensing and Response. SBI Energy forecasts that by 2015, the global market share of smart meters in the Advanced Information and Performance Control group will grow from 19% to nearly 26% as nations assertively roll out their government-mandated smart meter deployment programs.

New York, November 10, 2010 — The next five years will be a pivotal period for the global smart grid market with grid component companies expected to leverage their sales prowess to capture long-term contracts throughout the electric grid supply chain, according to SBI Energy’s new industry study Global Smart Grid-Enabling Products Market. Eagerly anticipated government cash incentives will prove equally crucial for developers and will inevitably spark sales of smart grid components.

Many factors are driving the smart grid-enabler products market growth but the most predominant forces are the aging grid infrastructure, the influence of product marketers to integrate their solutions into these grids, and rapidly advancing technologies required to keep pace with electricity demand. Since 2005, SBI Energy estimates that the global smart grid products market size has grown from $26 billion to in excess of $69 billion in 2009 —a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22%. SBI Energy forecasts the global market size for smart grid-enabler products will surpass $186 billion by 2015.

The study divides smart grid-enabling products into five sectors: Integrated Communications, including switches, routers, and telecommunication system technologies such WiFi, broadband, and WiMax; Advanced Components, including inverters, flow control devices, storage batteries, and microgrids; Advanced Information and Performance Controls, including methods for monitoring power system components, enabling rapid diagnosis and timely response to any event on the grid that disrupts the flow of electricity; Sensing and Response, including technologies that enhance power system measurements and enable the transformation of data into information; and Improved Interfaces and Decision Support, which consist of technologies that effectuate decision support with improved interfaces that lead to more accurate and timely human decision making at all levels of the grid.

Short-term beneficiaries of smart grid investment are infrastructure manufacturers that provide the necessary compliant equipment and technologies. Additionally, companies specializing in the manufacture of various smart grid components (such as smart meters and integrated communications technologies) will enjoy strong demand for their products.

"The development of the smart grid involves a complex mix of technologies, devices, and systems that will be deployed throughout the electric system. The suppliers of products that enable smart grid development and improvement are embarking on substantial marketing campaigns in regions committed to smart grids," says Darren Bosik, SBI Energy analyst. "They can expect an abundance of marketing opportunities through 2015. Now that governments have laid plans for grid improvements and utilities are securing funding to actualize those enhancements, the suppliers of the tools and technologies required for smart grid deployment will become more of a near-term necessity."

Asia, Europe and the United States are the regions with the greatest revenue-generating opportunities for suppliers of smart grid-enabling products. The highest spending on smart grid initiatives will occur in these markets through 2015, with Japan and China accelerating their smart grid deployment more rapidly than other countries.

The U.S.’s dramatic investment in smart grid products is attributed to the installation of smart sensors and devices placed throughout consumer homes and office buildings. However, the smart grid-enabler products industry is comprised of a wealth of other goods and technologies that have helped to fuel sales in Asia and Europe. For instance, sensing and measuring devices continue to comprise more than half of the market share and its estimated market size in 2010 is more than $47 billion, a 26% increase from 2009. And although it comprises the smallest market share of the five sectors, advanced components will grow sales by nearly 53% to reach almost $3 billion in 2010.

Global Smart Grid-Enabling Products Market examines several products and technologies that will either become components of the Smart Grid or will become ancillary support systems for the smart grid. The various products that enable the smart grid have been envisioned by the U.S. Department of Energy and fall into categories such as Transmission Automation, System Coordination and Assessment, System Operations, and Distributed Generation and Storage. This report delves into the products that enable these components to collaborate and form the basis of the smart grid system.

About SBI Energy
SBI Energy, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes research reports in the industrial, energy, building/construction, and automotive/transportation markets.  SBI Energy also offers a full range of custom research services. 

Additional Materials

Blog posting: Growth Period Ahead for Smart Grid Products Companies

Suppliers of products that enable Smart Grid development and improvement are embarking on substantial marketing campaigns in regions committed to Smart Grid overhaul. Product manufacturers will likely see an abundance of opportunity develop through 2015 now that governments have laid plans for grid improvements and utilities are securing funding to actualize those enhancements.

The suppliers of the tools and technologies required for Smart Grid deployment will become more of a near-term necessity. Such products in high demand initially will be smart meters, interactive telecommunications technology (such as broadband over powerlines), and decision support tools.

But Smart Grid-enabling products companies should be aware that countries upgrading their electricity Smart Grids face many challenges during the first few years. Besides securing capital investment and funding, other hurdles can inhibit the progress of Smart Grid development. Many Smart Grid efforts are challenged by lack of resources, including trained personnel, advanced technology, industry research, and support from the public and private sectors. 

Asia, Europe and the U.S. are the regions with the greatest revenue-generating opportunities for suppliers of Smart Grid-enabling products. The highest spending on Smart Grid initiatives will occur in these markets through 2015 with Japan and China accelerating their Smart Grid deployment more rapidly than other countries.

Obvious short-term beneficiaries of Smart Grid investment are infrastructure manufacturers that provide the necessary compliant equipment and technologies. Additionally, companies specializing in the manufacture of various Smart Grid components (such as smart meters and integrated communications technologies) will enjoy strong demand for their products.

Additional Materials

Blog posting: Smart Grid Market Size Grows

Many estimates of the Smart Grid products market size account for the myriad components that help utilities maximize the potential of the grid and improve efficiency around electricity control. There is no disputing that Smart Grid products traverse a multitude of manufacturing industries, including telecommunications, utilities, and technology. Product market growth prospects differ, too, by geographic region and manufacturing sector. SBI Energy estimates for the size of the Smart Grid market today and how much it has grown since 2005 take into account the products available at the time and the pace at which Smart Grid development is occurring.

Since 2005, SBI Energy estimates that the global Smart Grid products market size has grown from $25.5 billion to in excess of $69 billion in 2009 - a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22.1%. The cost of fully deploying the Smart Grid is spread out differently by region.  The U.S., for instance, has accelerated spending on Smart Grid deployment at a much faster rate than Europe and Asia, although Asia’s market share of spending on Smart Grid products has generally been twice that of the U.S.’s since 2005.

The market share distribution of Smart Grid-enabler products categories, in fact, is relatively stable since 2005 with much of the growth derived from sensing and measurement products. Sales from this category will likely contribute the most to the global market’s 29.4% year-over-year increase in sales of nearly $90 billion for 2010.

Additional Materials

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