Smart Transformers Market Trends

Smart Transformers Market Overview:

Smart Transformers Market is projected to be worth USD 3.86 billion, registering a CAGR of 10.12% during the forecast period (2022-2030). The market was valued at USD 2.21 billion in 2020.

Because the smart grid is integrated with remote monitoring, smart transformers provide increased energy security by allowing remote users to monitor and verify the operation of the transformers and optimize their operation as needed. The energy generated with Smart Transformers is cleaner, and fewer fossil fuels are burned in the process. As a result of these advantages, the market for Smart Transformers is expected to increase rapidly. The smart transformers market is likely to be dominated by distribution transformers, which are used to connect with consumers and for continuous load monitoring. Smart grid technology is increasingly being viewed as a strategic infrastructural investment by governments in both emerging and developing countries that will help them accomplish their long-term economic success and carbon emission reduction goals.

The majority of developed countries have tackled energy waste produced for commercial, industrial, or domestic purposes. The need to use generated power efficiently has arisen as a result of rising energy consumption and the continued rise in the world population. Furthermore, industrialized countries such as Europe are taking the lead in adopting sustainable energy consumption and reservation solutions. Smart transformers are used all around the world because of these features.

The majority of the developed countries have addressed the wastage of energy generated for commercial, industrial, or residential requirements. Owing to the increasing demand for energy and the ongoing rise in the global population has created the necessity of utilizing the generated power efficiently. In addition to that developed countries like Europe are taking initiative to adopt greener solutions for energy consumption and reservation. Considering all these factors, Smart transformers are utilized across the globe. Smart transformers are programmed to provide an optimized power supply to the needs of the specific end-user. 

Smart transformers offer enhanced energy security, as the smart grid is integrated with remote monitoring, the smart transformers allow the remote users to monitor and verify the operation of the transformers and optimize their operation according to the necessity. With the help of Smart Transformers, the energy generated is cleaner, and fewer fossil fuels are burnt in the process, owing to these features of Smart Transformers, we can expect rapid growth in the market.

Smart Transformers Industry News:

In February 2022, Ameren Missouri planned to upgrade its aging infrastructure and invest in smart technology across the state during the 2022-2027 period. In February 2022, Ameren Missouri intends to spend billions of dollars on upgrading old infrastructure and investing in smart technology statewide until 2027. The company filed an updated Smart Energy Plan with the Public Service Commission (PSC) of Missouri, pledging a total of $8.4 billion towards replacing equipment that could be up to fifty years old, as well as putting new technology into play for improved customer services and reliability including distributed transformers.

In December 2021, Chinese PV inverter manufacturer Huawei planned to supply its string inverters and smart transformer station for the Soudia Agro Solar PV Power Plant in Bangladesh.

In November 2021, ABB launched the world’s 1st dry oil-free type of digital transformer, where the coil and the core are cooled by non-flammable insulation material and air, which makes it more compatible with off-shore applications.

Noor Energy 1 took advantage of Huawei’s recent inventions such as string inverters and Smart Transformer Stations mainly used in fast-track deployments due to their modularity during the month of September 2021.

In April 2021, Siemens presented a digital transformer that had intelligence integrated into it electronically by sensors, enabling the flow of data communication, which increased flexibility and grid operation optimization.

Hitachi ABB Power Grids partnered with Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore) research institute on a government-led smart grid development project in March 2021. This alliance will also develop next-gen transformers suitable for a smart grid.

Enel SpA (Italy), the global supplier of power and gas, announced its partnership with Hitachi ABB Power Grids on February 15th, 2021. Together, they plan to put Hitachi ABB’s TXpert Ecosystem into practice at Enel Infrastructure & Networks Division to enhance grid reliability.

Hitachi ABB is a transformer supplier, while Nanyang Technological University Singapore has recently joined forces with the company on technological grounds in February 2021. They anticipate creating commercial solid-state transformers as well as SSTs that have been applied in locomotives, light rail, EV fast chargers, PV inverters and battery energy storage systems.

Smart Transformers Market Competitive Landscape:

Owing to the increasing demand for electricity, effective management of the generated power is considered crucial in industrial sectors. The role of Smart Transformers is to provide the exact amount of power required for the industrial/commercial activity, therefore a huge quantity of power is saved. This attribute has bolstered market players to invest in the Smart Transformers Market. Some of the primary market players are listed below:

• Siemens AG


• Eaton Corporation


• Alstom


• Schneider Electric


• Crompton Greaves Ltd


• Howard Industries Incorporation


• Gridco Systems


• SPX Transformer Solutions Incorporation


• Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited

Industry News

• Hitachi ABB Power Grids and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) cooperated on a government-led smart grid development initiative in March 2021. The alliance is also expected to cooperate on developing next-generation transformers that are smart grid compatible.


• In September 2021, Noor Energy 1 implemented the latest Huawei technology, primarily string inverters and Smart Transformer Stations, which enable a more modular system to be created on a faster schedule.


• Huawei, a Chinese PV inverter maker, intended to supply string inverters and a smart transformer station to Bangladesh's Saudia Agro Solar PV Power Plant in December 2021.

Smart Transformers Market Dynamics:

Market Drivers:

The distributor transformer segment is considered as the leading factor to drive the Smart Transformers market, as they are capable of communicating with the customer regarding the power generation and offer controlling authority from remote areas.

The Smart Transformers provide additional flexibility and can achieve high power density and operation at comparatively higher frequencies. These features reduce the size and costs of the transformers. These advanced features attract market players to utilize smart transformers in the industrial sectors.

Smart Transformers can be connected to varied renewable sources, as the countries have begun to utilize renewable resources like tidal, solar and wind energy for power generation, the smart transformers can effectively work with these renewable energy resources.

Market Opportunities:

Developed countries have started using electric vehicles for transportation to cut down the carbon print. There has a growing demand for these electric vehicles in the countries like Europe, Germany, China, and the US. These electric vehicles require charging infrastructure constructed sparsely across the country. They acquire energy from the DC sources, which has increased the demand for active power control. This requirement has created a huge demand for the Smart Transformers market.

The emerging and underdeveloped countries across the world are viewing smart grid technology as a strategical investment to achieve their carbon emission targets and to sustain their long-term economic property. 

The old electric grid infrastructure combined with the rapid growth in technology has aided the Smart Transformers market growth. In addition to that, the emerging countries have started utilizing micro-generators and revolutions in the power sectors also have bolstered the market growth.

Market restraints:

Several developing countries lack the advanced electric grid infrastructure that is required for the adoption of Smart Transformers. In addition to that, the issues like data breaching, cybersecurity are some of the factors that restrict the Smart Transformers market growth.

Higher installation costs associated with the Smart Transformers and lack of testing infrastructure in developing countries are considered as the major restraints for the Smart Transformers market growth.

Market Challenges:

Poor government regulations and initiatives for adopting the new technology in power generation are considered as the major challenges in the Smart Transformers market. As the Smart Transformers require higher capital, the lack of government initiatives makes it more difficult for the market growth.

The low accessibility to electricity in major developing countries also imposes significant restrictions on the growth of the Smart Transformers market.

Cumulative growth analysis:

Developed countries such as the US and China are highly involved in commercial and industrial activities, the energy demand is inevitable. Smart Transformers for their attractive features are utilized by the majority of the industries. The US market is valued at $6.9 Billion in the year 2021 and China is estimated to reach about $6.6 Billion by the year 2026 railing CAGR of 7.8% through the analysis period. The majority of industries utilize Smart Transformers as the industries prefer alternate energy production for their industrial activities.

Smart distribution networks require smart transformers that enable communication with the customers that help the customers have insight into the transformers. The responsive transformers help the customers to monitor the load continuously. In addition to that, they offer the flexibility of letting the remote office or mobile command station verify the condition and access the information. These attributes play a key role in increasing the Smart Transformers market demand. Despite the COVID 19 crisis, the Smart Transformers market value has reached about USD 32.6 Billion in the year 2020, this was because of the oil-immersion distribution transformers for their energy-efficient and longer operating life.

Value chain analysis:

The Smart Transformers market growth is expected to be witness face-paced growth in the upcoming years, as the value has reached about $6.9 billion in 2021 having to face several difficulties. The technological advancements in the industry are the major reason for the rapid growth of the Smart Transformers market value. The oil-immersed distribution transformers are utilized by the countries for their energy efficiency and longer operating life, whereas the traditional transformers tend to blow up or get defects frequently within few years of installation.

Dry-type transformers are considered as the fast-growing segment as they focus on environmental safety, as developed countries like Europe focus on eco-friendly solutions and those that emit lesser or no greenhouse gases. These countries have moved to renewable energy sources like solar energy, wind energy for industrial activities. These sources can be connected to the power grids thereby improves the efficiency of the power transmission systems.

Segment overview:

By Component:

• Converters


• Switches


• Transformers


• Hardware for Transformer Monitoring


• Others

By Type:

• Power Transformers


• Distribution Transformers


• Specialty Transformers


• Instrument Transformers

By Application:

• Traction Locomotive


• Smart Grid


• Electric Vehicle Charging


• Other Applications

Regional analysis:

Developed countries like the US, Europe, Japan have realized the significance of Smart Transformers and have contributed to the growth of the Smart Transformers Market value. A recent study shows that India is the third biggest producer of electricity, the government regulations that have permitted the electricity generation as delicensed activity, the electricity generation is expected to grow in the forecast period. Owing to these factors, we can estimate a rise in Smart Transformers market growth in India in forecast periods.

Smart transformers are deployed in the electric distortion grids, to monitor the voltage and regulate them. These attributes have aided the growth of the Smart Transformers market. Especially in China which stands in first place in electricity generation, receives large funding to support the development.

Recent developments:

Smart Transformer breathers:

Breathers are utilized in the conventional transformers to prevent moisture from entering into the transformers. As the moisture accumulation could saturate the oil used by the transformer and harm transformers. The moisture could degrade the insulation property also. Hence the breathers are very crucial in the transformers, however, the frequent replacement of the silica gel is essential in conventional breathers. The smart breathers utilize the silica gel as well, but have the capability of regenerating the silica gel at a regular period, this does not require manual replacements and hence reduces the maintenance costs.

Submersible transformer inspection robot:

The inspection of the internal parts of the transformers is to be monitored for the transformers to perform more efficiently. This Technology innovation is a wireless robot that is capable of performing an internal inspection in very little time. This also cuts down the inspection costs and reduces the personnel risk.

Report overview:

This report has covered:

• Market overview


• COVID 19 Analysis 


• Market dynamics


• Cumulative growth analysis


• Value chain analysis 


• Segment overview


• Regional analysis


• Competitive landscape


• Recent developments

Segmentation Table:

By Component:

• Converters


• Switches


• Transformers


• Hardware for Transformer Monitoring


• Others

By Type:

• Power Transformers


• Distribution Transformers


• Specialty Transformers


• Instrument Transformers