Bearing manufacturers will be keeping a keen eye on events unfolding at the UN’s climate change summit in Copenhagen this month. World leaders are expected to commit to a number of new measures aimed at reducing the planet’s carbon emissions, providing a boost to the renewable energy sector, and in turn, the bearings industry.
The charge towards generating more of our energy from renewable sources has seen the wind turbine industry witness emphatic growth levels over recent years. Whilst the economic downturn and subsequent strangling of capital for new projects has slowed this growth somewhat, bearings manufacturers are expected to reap substantial rewards from this sector in the coming years.
Craig Foster, author of “The EMEA and Americas Markets for Bearings” study believes that producers of the spherical roller bearing – the main bearing type used in wind turbines – will be the biggest beneficiaries. “The spherical roller bearing market was estimated to be worth $2.1 billion in the EMEA and $714 million in the Americas in 2008. Whilst total sales of this bearing have fallen in 2009, sales of those used in wind turbines remained fairly steady. Future growth of the spherical roller bearing market is expected to outstrip that of other bearings types as countries seek to fulfil their carbon reduction obligations and add more wind turbines to the electricity grid.”
