China is the biggest market for HVDC substations and accounted for a share of 51% of the global market in 2012. Power plants in China are located close to the sources of fuel – hydropower and others – and are far away from the load centers.

 

This means that the power has to be transmitted over long distances, leading to a growing need for stable HVDC infrastructure. There are a significant number of power generation and infrastructure projects planned during the forecast period in China, which will translate into demand for HVDC converter stations. For example, many new large-scale hydropower plants are expected to come online in the southwestern region, where hydropower resources are abundant, and these would need to be connected to load centers such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou. This gives rise to opportunities for HVDC projects. Over the 2013–2020 period, the cumulative revenues from the Chinese HVDC converter station market are expected to reach $27.1 billion.

ABB, Siemens and Alstom are the major players operating in the global HVDC converter station market. They accounted for 98% of the global HVDC converter station market in 2012, with Toshiba accounting for the remaining 2%. It can be said that ABB and Siemens usually account for over 90% of the entire market. In fact, in 2006, they accounted for 100%. Following this year, the market saw the entry of Alstom as a competitor, while Toshiba entered the market more recently in 2012. ABB and Siemens are the strongest players in the market with the most expertise in HVDC converter-station technology.