Asia Pacific's nuke capacity predicted to hit 50GW

It could grab the lion's share in global demand.

According to GlobalData, the global market for nuclear Reactor Pressure Vessels (RPVs) was valued at $4.45 billion between 2006 and 2014, and will increase to approximately $16.53 billion during the 2015 to 2020 period.

The company’s latest report states that due to high RPV demand for commercial nuclear reactors, Asia-Pacific (APAC) will command almost half of the global market between 2015 and 2020. Europe and North America will also be major players, with 34% and 10% shares, respectively.

Here's more from GlobalData:

Swati Singh, GlobalData's Analyst covering Power, says: “The addition of 48 nuclear reactors currently in construction in APAC will add around 50 Gigawatts (GW) to the region’s nuclear capacity. These developments will generate substantial demand for RPVs and reactor pressure vessel heads, boosting market growth during the forecast period.”

GlobalData states that of the APAC countries, China is expected to hold the highest RPV market share of 48.6% between 2006 and 2020. The country will be followed by India with 27.3%, South Korea with 13.9% and Japan with 3.4%.

Singh continues: “Increasing power demand has led to supply shortages in China, compelling the country to seek alternative sources of power generation while also looking to cut its carbon emissions.

“Nuclear energy’s ability to supply substantial amounts of power without emitting carbon makes it a viable option. Due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources, the majority of China’s power demand will be supported in the coming years by nuclear power plants, which will require large-scale developments.”

However, the analyst adds that China halted the construction of new nuclear reactors following the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, to assess the safety of its existing facilities.

“With skepticism over the reliability of safety checks performed at Chinese reactors, the country will need to improve the credibility of its assessments to increase pro-nuclear public opinion and ensure significant industry growth,” Singh concludes.