The rising power transmission and distribution infrastructure and the replacement of ageing substations equipment, along with the rising demand for electricity in emerging and developed countries are driving the global switchgear industry.
In the electrical power industry, switchgear is usually the combination of various devices such as current and voltage transformer, relays, circuit breakers, fuses, isolators and switches to improve system operations. They are basically used to de-energise equipment if downstream faults occur that are directly connected to the electricity supply. Switchgears are mainly used for overcoming fluctuating operating voltage in the complex electrical substation.
The global switchgear market growth is rising strongly due to increasing access to electricity in developing countries and smart grids development in developed markets. The switchgear market was around USD$ 100 billion in 2018 and is projected to reach nearly USD $ 150 billion by 2025.
In emerging economies, such as China, India and Brazil, a significant investment in transmission and distribution networks are expected to drive the market growth of switchgear.
On the other hand, the rising carbon dioxide emission mitigation measures coupled with increasing consumer awareness of adopting renewable energies such as solar and wind would increase the use of switchgears. An increasing trend towards producing clean energy will result in the setting up of new transmission and distribution grids, substation and other systems, which in turn will positively boost the switchgear market growth.
However, switchgears prices are greatly affected by volatile input costs such as copper, aluminium and steel. It added pressure on local manufacturers to compete with global players. Some global producers already shifted their production facilities to regions that facilitate the lower cost of manufacturing as well as have a higher demand, such as China, India etc.