NEWS RELEASE                                                                                        SEPTEMBER 2012

China Will Buy More NOx Catalyst Than the Rest of the World Combined 

A huge program to add more than 800,000 MW of coal-fired Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) capacity in China will make this country not only the largest catalyst purchaser but larger than the rest of the world combined. This is the conclusion reached in the recent revisions to the NOx Control World Markets published by the McIlvaine Company.

China plans to build as many SCR systems per year as exist in the U.S. It plans to retrofit 90 percent of existing coal-fired units and to include SCR on all new units. By 2020, it will have four times the coal-fired capacity of the U.S.

The contrast between the two countries is striking. The U.S. is immersed in battles over which plants install SCR at what time. Millions of dollars are being spent in litigation over 50,000 MW more or less. China is stepping up to the plate and committing to 1,100,000 MW of SCR over the same timeframe. 

The Chinese system construction costs will be considerably less than in the U.S., but the catalyst prices will be relatively high. Catalyst prices in China have risen about 3%/yr over the last several years and are now at 80 percent of the U.S. level. The value of all catalyst installed in China in 2020 is projected to be more than $5 billion and the annual market will level off at $1 billion.  However, at its peak around 2015, the annual market will exceed $1.5 billion and will account for more than 60 percent of the entire world purchases.

There has been a very substantial investment in facilities to manufacture catalyst in China. However, domestic demand will exceed supply over the next several years. After 2015, domestic manufacturers will be capable of supplying all the needed catalyst within China and will be looking for export markets.  Most of the catalyst is being supplied by joint venture companies which include international partners.

For more information on NOx Control World Markets, click on: http://www.mcilvainecompany.com/brochures/air.html#n035