1/28/2008 

Wellesley, MA — According to a new technical market research report, Seawater And Brackish Water Desalination (MST052A) from BCC Research (www.bccresearch.com), the global market for seawater and brackish water desalination plants was worth $1.9 billion in 2007. This is expected to increase to over $3.6 billion by 2012, a compound average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4%.

The Earth’s finite fresh water reserves are dwindling—a situation that will place the challenge of developing new sources at the forefront of global sustainability concerns for decades to come.

Because of the potentially unlimited availability of seawater, there have been numerous efforts to develop cheap and effective desalting technologies for converting saline water to fresh. Currently, less than 1% of the world’s water supply is produced through desalination, the removal of salts from a saline source. But that percentage is changing rapidly. Global capacity has risen about 45% in the past 5 years and is slated to increase at about the same rate during the next 5 years. Current global brackish water and seawater desalination capacity is approximately 42,000,000 m3/day. About 2,000,000 m3/day of that was added in 2007.

Presently, there are more than 24,000,000 m3/day of desalination capacity on the global drawing board, slated for construction in the next 5 to 10 years. During the next 5 years, BCC anticipates that 40% to 50% of this plant capacity will be constructed, depending on world region.

Market sizes and growth rates vary widely according to world region, but issues of water stress and shortage are driving all markets. Growing populations, increased demand for water by individuals and industry, and diminishing fresh water sources due to degradation and drought have created water scarcity in many regions. In this environment, municipal users may compete with industry for vital water resources; and more seriously, states and nations may conflict with their more water-prosperous neighbors.

With desalination, brackish water and seawater represent a new and potentially unlimited supply of high quality water.

SOURCE: BCC Research