According to a newly released report from NanoMarkets,
an analyst firm that tracks and analyzes emerging market opportunities in energy
and electronics markets created by developments in advanced materials, Smart
Grid infrastructure requirements will create significant opportunities for advanced
materials suppliers ranging from new compound semiconductors to the latest nanomaterials.
NanoMarkets' new report, "Opportunities for New Materials and Devices in
the Smart Grid: 2010 to 2017" also claims that new Smart Grid infrastructure
products will create a $12 billion ($US) revenue opportunity for suppliers of
components, wires, cables, storage devices and insulators. Additional details
about the report can be found at www.nanomarkets.net.
Members of the press may request an executive summary.
Key findings of the report include:
- The use of composite materials in the Smart Grid will allow it to carry
much larger currents and voltages than today. These materials are already
making a difference in the form of composite cabling that offer two to four
times the capacity of conventional transmission cabling. Within a few years
nanocomposite dielectrics will be used as fillers in grid insulators with
dramatic improvements in voltage endurance, breakdown strength, component
size, and aging characteristics. By 2017, such "nano-dielectrics"
are expected to account for more than $500 million in revenues.
- Silicon Carbide is already beginning to replace silicon in grid power electronics
devices and Gallium Nitride, Zinc Oxide and industrial diamond may also in
the future. Using devices made with these materials, electricity grids will
be able to carry more electricity and there will be fewer switching devices
needed than in today's grid infrastructure; switching losses are said to be
half of those for equivalent silicon devices. By 2017, NanoMarkets projects
that over $400 million in non-silicon power electronics devices will be sold
into grid applications.
- By 2017 about $350 million will be spent on superconducting cables and
fault current limiting (FCL) devices for the Smart Grid. Initially, superconductive
cabling will be used in short lengths in strategic areas such as grid interconnects,
but expected price declines will eventually drive superconductors into long-haul
transmission systems. Deploying superconductors in Smart Grid cabling will
reduce line losses, assure stable voltage, and expand current carrying capacities.
Only nanotubes wires promise higher conductivity than superconductors but
nanotube wire deployment lies many years in the future.
About the Report:
NanoMarkets' new report provides the firm's latest analysis and forecasts of
Smart Grid components utilizing advanced materials. This report includes projections
of these components in volume and value terms for the next eight years and it
identifies the key materials that will lead to a new level of performance in
the transmission and distribution of electricity. In addition to the areas mentioned
above, this report covers SF6 elimination, nanotubes wires, grid batteries and
supercapacitors.
Firms discussed in this report include: 3M, A123, Air Liquide, Alcan, Alcoa,
Altair, American Superconductor, Axion, Beijing Superconductor, BOC, Bruker,
Cellenium, Composite Technology Corporation, Composite Technology Development,
Cree, Entec, evico, Firefly, Fujikura, Furukawa, GE, General Cable, Honeywell,
Huntsman, Hypertech, Hyundai, Infineon, Innopower, Innova, International Rectifier,
Lamifil, LS Cable, MetOx, Nexans, NGK, NKT, Philips, Preformed Line Products,
Prudent Energy, SemiSouth, Showa, Siemens, Silicon Power, Southwire, Sumitomo,
SuNAM, SuperPower, ThyssenKrupp, Toshiba, Transic, Velox Semiconductor, VFuel,
Wire Rope and Zenergy.