Nuclear Power Plant Equipment Market

[155 Pages Report] The global nuclear power plant equipment market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth USD 15.7 billion in 2022 and is poised to reach USD 18.6 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 3.5% from 2022 to 2027. Growing demand of Energy for high performance is driving the nuclear power plant equipment market.

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Nuclear Power Plant Equipment Market Dynamics

Driver: Growing demand for clean energy

Nuclear energy as clean energy is a more reliable way of producing electricity on a large scale. The versatile nature of nuclear energy could enable the transition to a cleaner world and a stronger global economy. In recent decades, clean energy sources have witnessed rapid innovations and cost reductions. Solar photovoltaic, wind power, hydropower, dispatchable geothermal (both deep and shallow), biomass, and concentrating solar power have experienced rapid technological and economic advances in the last decade. Nuclear energy has the potential to be coupled with several other energy sources in a synergistic fashion, which could result in integrated systems that are more than the sum of their parts. It produces energy by fission, which is the splitting of uranium atoms to release energy. Without the toxic consequences that come from burning fossil fuels, electricity is produced using the heat from fission to produce steam, which turns a turbine.

Restraints: Long Construction period and high cost of construction

The capital costs involved in nuclear power plants include the cost of site selection, construction, manufacturing, contracting, and finance. A large-scale nuclear reactor requires thousands of personnel to build enormous quantities of steel and concrete, thousands of parts, and several systems that provide electricity, cooling, ventilation, information control, and communication., The capital cost required is very high compared to alternative power generation technologies such as solar and wind. For coal power plants, it costs 1.88 cents to produce 1 kilowatt hour of energy, while for fossil fuel energy generation, the cost of building and operating a fossil fuel power plant is lower than that of a nuclear power plant. In Europe and the US, nuclear power plant construction cost is between USD 5,500/kW and USD 8000/kW roughly between USD 6 billion and USD 9 billion for each 1,100 MW plant. On the other hand, solar power plants cost about USD 2000/kW. Hence, the high cost has become a major restraining factor for the nuclear industry.

Opportunities: Rising need for sustainability and decarbonization globally

The world would need to harness all low-carbon energy sources to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and limit the increase of global mean surface temperature to below 2° C relative to pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. Nuclear power plants produce virtually no greenhouse gas emissions or air pollutants during their operation and emit very low emissions over their entire life cycle. Fundamentally, nuclear energy for sustainable development is robust owing to its scalability and energy density. Along with hydropower and wind energy, nuclear power produces low GHG emissions per unit of electricity generated on a life cycle basis, including construction, operation, decommissioning, and waste management. On a life cycle basis, nuclear energy emits only a few grams of CO2 /kWh compared to 800 grams of CO2/kWh emission from coal. These advantages of nuclear energy help achieve sustainability and decarbonization goals across the energy sector.

Challenges: High cost of storage, transportation, and disposal of used fuel

Globally, 400,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel is produced from civil nuclear power plants. Several institutions worry about the transportation, storage, and disposal of nuclear waste because they see it as an increasing concern for the local environment ecosystem and is a financial burden for them. To facilitate the storage, transportation, and disposal of used fuels, companies or governments must spend a huge amount.

For example, in the US, 86,000 tons -of used nuclear fuel, which is currently being stored at a number of facilities across 34 states, will eventually have to be disposed. It costs ~USD 600/kg to store and then dispose spent nuclear fuel. The US government spends USD 6 billion each year for the disposal of nuclear waste. The project’s cost of clean-up for the Manhattan project is projected to be around USD 300 billion. Additionally, the government is creating brand-new, particularly made railcars to support future large-scale used fuel transportation. Hence the high cost of storage, transportation, and disposal of used fuels poses a significant challenge to the further growth of the nuclear industry.

Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the global nuclear power plant equipment market.

Asia Pacific accounted for the largest market share in 2021. It is also the fastest-growing market during the forecast period. Asia Pacific dominated the Nuclear power plant equipment market in 2021 and is likely to continue its dominance during the forecasted period as well. It is one of the principal geographical areas in the world where nuclear power is expanding significantly. In Asia Pacific, there are ~140 operational nuclear power plants and 30–35 plants are under construction. The major nations in the region also have plans to develop an additional 60 to 70 reactors over the next few years. China produces 52 GW of nuclear power through its 54 reactors, 22 (24.7 GW) are under construction, and 42 (46.1 GW) are planned. China has the strong project pipeline in the world further strengthening the outlook toward the market in the country.

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Key Market Players

The major players in the global Nuclear power plant equipment market are General Electric (US), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (Japan), Shanghai Electric (China), Toshiba Energy System & Solutions Corporation (Japan), Doosan Corporation (South Korea).

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Scope of the Report

This research report categorizes the market based on reactor type, Equipment type and region.

Based on Reactor Type, the Nuclear power plant equipment market has been segmented as follows:

• Pressurized Water reactor (PWR)
• Boiling water Reactor (BWR)
• Pressurized Heavy water Reactor(PHWR)
• Advanced reactor
  • Fast breeder reactor (FBR)
  • Reactor Bolshoy Moschnosti Kanalniy (RBMK)
  • Pebble-bed reactors (PBR)

Based on Equipment, the market has been segmented as follows:

• Island Equipment
• Auxiliary Equipment

Based on the region, the market has been segmented as follows:

• Americas
• Asia Pacific
• Europe
• Middle East & Africa

Recent Developments

• In February 2022, GE agreed to sell nuclear power activities part to Electricite de France. Nuclear power is the generation of electricity through nuclear reactions. Nuclear fission, nuclear decay, and nuclear fusion reactions can all produce power. Currently, the great majority of nuclear power electricity is generated through nuclear fission of uranium and plutonium in nuclear power plants.
• In June 2022, The US Department of Défense awarded BWX a contract to construct the nation's first cutting-edge nuclear microreactor.
• In November 2022, GE entered into an agreement to sell GE Steam Power’s nuclear activities to EDF. EDF signs deal to acquire GE Steam Power's nuclear activities. The transaction also covers steam turbine technology such as the European pressurized reactors and compact modular reactors. The activities of GE Steam Power involve the production of conventional island equipment for the new nuclear power plants.
• In April 2021, The U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program awarded BWX a contract worth US$2.2 billion to produce the parts and fuel for naval nuclear reactors.
• In October 2021, A teaming agreement has been made between GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH) and BWXT Canada Ltd. (BWXT Canada) to work together on engineering and procurement to support the design, production, and commercialization of the BWRX-300 compact modular reactor.

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