DC Circuit Breaker Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

DC Circuit Breaker Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The DC circuit breaker market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.32% over the period of 2022-2027, reaching the value of USD 6.381 billion in 2027 from USD 3.43 billion in 2020. During 2020, due to the pandemic, the world witnessed a significant downfall in total power generation and transmission, which negatively effected the sales of DC circuit breakers. Factors such as rise of an influx of renewable sources in the energy mix and rising adoption of HVDC transmission, along with upgradation and modernization of aging infrastructure are expected to drive the market in the forecast period. Rise in the stability of electricity supply thereby reducing the need for circuit breakers is likely to restrain the growth of the DC circuit breaker market in the coming years.

• Solid-state segment is expected to dominate the DC circuit breaker market during the forecast period.
• Globally, the focus has increased on investments in clean energy projects and the development of the renewable energy sector. As a result, the extensive development of new renewable projects, and rising electricity usage is likely to create an excellent opportunity for the dc circuit breaker market in the future.
• Asia-Pacific has dominated the DC circuit breaker market in recent years and is expected to witness significant market growth in the forecast period, with the majority of the demand coming from China and India.

• Solid-State DC circuit breaker replaces traditional parts of electromechanical circuit breakers with advanced software algorithms and semiconductors that may control power and interrupt power systems faster within a few microseconds than electromechanical ones that utilize a few milliseconds. In the case of internal fault, energy storage systems and electrical DC grid services are strongly affected by downtime. A solid-state DC circuit breaker may help disconnection of fault zones rapidly and prevent the system's shutdown.
• In addition, a solid-state DC circuit breaker may interrupt DC current without generating an arc, and it is maintenance-free. The tripping and switch units are solid-state, which meet precise protection requirements, and it uses an emitter turn-off (ETO) thyristor as the switch, which contains a cathode, anode, and three gate electrodes.
• The growth of renewable energy installations such as wind and solar power has driven the development of HVDC transmission. It is a crucial technology to connect various AC grids and economical transmission of large-capacity renewable energy over long distances, especially in remote areas. Further, a DC short-circuit fault is a significant challenge to the HVDC transmission system as it may cause damage to the power converter and other electrical instruments, so a solid-state DC circuit breaker is used in these systems as a key technology so it may quickly switch off faulty lines and keep the voltage in acceptable ranges.
• Moreover, the solid-state DC circuit breaker is faster, more flexible, and more continuous than the mechanical DC breaker, which costs less. It covers less topology than the hybrid DC circuit breaker.
• Furthermore, a solid-state DC circuit breaker is also used in ships as the power supply is through DC grids in most marine vessels. A solid-state DC circuit breaker interrupts short-circuit current in microseconds, preventing arcing, and covers less topology.
• Overall, the solid-state DC circuit breaker segment is expected to grow due to increasing investment in the HVDC transmission and distribution industry, primarily in regions with significant renewable energy adoption, such as Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific, coupled with increasing power consumption among the marine industry.

• nThe Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness substantial demand for DC circuit breakers, primarily due to the growth in electricity demand across the region and the related requirement of electrical infrastructure.
• nEnvironmental pollution is among the significant world concerns, and countries in Asia-Pacific such as China and India are among some of the largest producers of greenhouse gases across the globe.
• nGovernment bodies across countries in the Asia Pacific region have initiated numerous strategies to gradually reduce carbon emissions by increasing investments in the research and development of renewable energy sources. For instance, the installed solar capacity in Asia-Pacific grew from 90.6 GW in 2015 to 422.6 GW in 2020.
• nThe rapid rise in the adoption of solar energy is attributed to the declining cost of solar energy equipment, which has been fuelled by continuous research and development initiatives and scaling of production activities in the region.
• nFor instance, in February 2022, China’s National Energy Administration announced that it had revised the target of increasing the share of renewable energy in China’s energy mix to 25% by 2025, in line with the government’s objectives to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.
• nNumerous projects in China are being constructed and are expected to boost the country’s demand for DC circuit breakers. For instance, in July 2021, Qinghai New Energy Group Co Ltd announced that it had initiated the construction of the 3.3 GW Golmud Solar CSP Power Plant, which is expected to be operational by 2024.
• In March 2022, the Chinese government announced that it is planning to construct numerous electric vehicle charging stations across the country to support the growing demand for electric vehicles across the country. For instance, in 2021, approximately 3 million new energy vehicles were sold and exported from China.
• Further, the Government of India has also initiated numerous strategies to increase the adoption of renewable energy sources in the country.
• For instance, in September 2021, the Government of India announced that it has planned to increase the renewable energy capacity in India by over 175 GW in 2020, which will include 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind energy. In 2021, approximately 10.4 GW of additional solar energy capacity was added to the country’s national grid in 2021.
• Therefore, owing to the above points, Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period.

The DC circuit breaker market is fragmented. Some of the key players in this market include ABB Ltd, Eaton Corporation PLC, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Fuji Electric Co Ltd, and Siemens AG.

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