Berg Insight - Experts & Thought Leaders

A new research report from the IoT analyst firm Berg Insight says that annual shipments of wireless devices for industrial automation applications reached 10.7 million units worldwide in 2023, accounting for approximately 9 percent of all new connected nodes. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3 percent, annual shipments are expected to reach 19.1 million by 2028. The installed base of wireless devices in industrial automation reached at the same time 56.5 million in 2023. While wired networking solutions are still predominantly used for industrial communications between sensors, controllers and systems, wireless solutions have gained a strong foothold in a number of applications. Non-mission critical applications Wireless solutions are used in hard-to-reach locations or hazardous areas where wired solutions are impractical, ineffective or cost-prohibitive. In factory automation, wireless solutions are widely used to connect mobile industrial equipment such as automated guided vehicles and to remotely access machines for programming and servicing. In factory automation, wireless solutions are widely used to connect mobile industrial equipment In process automation, wireless technologies are increasingly used in non-mission critical applications to remotely monitor and optimise processes while also ensuring worker safety. Today, a growing number of wireless field devices are provided by many major industrial automation vendors including ABB, Emerson, Hitachi, Honeywell, OMRON, Schneider Electric, Siemens and Yokogawa. Remote monitoring applications Wi-Fi has emerged as the most widely used wireless technology in industrial environments largely due to the wide availability of compatible hardware. Providers of industrial Wi-Fi devices include Siemens, Cisco, Belden, Moxa, Phoenix Contact, HMS Networks and Advantech. The 802.15.4-based protocol WirelessHART is the second largest wireless technology used in field devices. The technology is widespread in remote monitoring applications for process industries. Emerson became the first company to market WirelessHART products in 2008 and has today an installed base of more than 10 million wireless pressure transmitters. Industrial automation market Cellular solutions are typically used for data acquisition and backhaul communications Cellular solutions are typically used for data acquisition and backhaul communications in distributed automation applications. The largest providers of cellular IoT gateways and routers in the industrial space include Semtech, Cisco, Digi International, Moxa, GE Vernova, HMS Networks, Robustel, InHand Networks and Teltonika Networks. Devices featuring Wi-Fi, WirelessHART and cellular connectivity accounted for 70 percent of the installed base in 2023. “Partnerships and collaborations between industrial automation players and technology companies are increasingly focused on artificial intelligence,” said Veronika Barta, IoT Analyst at Berg Insight. During 2023–2024, the industrial automation market witnessed both the emergence of new partnerships as well as the extension of existing collaborations focusing on AI. AI-powered industrial solutions For instance, both ABB and Siemens extended their respective partnerships with Microsoft to focus on generative AI applications in digital solutions. In addition, both Schneider Electric and Siemens have partnerships with NVIDIA to advance the use of AI-powered industrial solutions. Most recently in June 2024, Rockwell Automation announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to scale the use of AI in industrial mobile robots. “More collaborations and partnerships can be expected in the coming years as solution providers bet on AI to optimise industrial processes,” concluded Ms. Barta.

The smart electricity metering market in Asia-Pacific is inching ever closer to the historic milestone of 1 billion installed smart meter devices. The latest research report from the IoT analyst firm Berg Insight analyses the development of smart metering technology in China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. According to the study, the installed base of smart electricity meters in Asia-Pacific will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4 percent from 818.6 million units in 2023 to nearly 1.2 billion units in 2029. At this pace, the milestone of 1 billion installed devices will be reached in mid-2026. Penetration rate of smart electricity meters in Asia-Pacific East Asia, including China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, has led the adoption of smart metering technology The penetration rate of smart electricity meters in Asia-Pacific will at the same time grow from 61 percent in 2023 to 80 percent in 2029, while cumulative shipments during 2024–2029 will amount to a total of 872.7 million units. East Asia, including China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, has led the adoption of smart metering technology in Asia-Pacific with ambitious nationwide rollouts and today constitute the most mature smart metering market in the region, accounting for more than 90 percent of the installed base in Asia-Pacific at the end of 2023. Rollout of smart electricity meters in China The rollout of smart electricity meters in China is now complete while Japan is in the end-phase of its rollout. The nationwide rollout in South Korea has suffered a number of delays and the national utility KEPCO now aims to complete the rollout by the end of 2024. Taiwan is the least mature market in East Asia and boasts an installed base of just 2.8 million smart meters. In China and Japan, replacements of first-generation smart meters have already begun, particularly in China where the meter life-cycle is relatively short. Replacements of aging first-generation smart meters “Replacements of aging first-generation smart meters will be the most important driver for smart meter shipments in Asia-Pacific throughout the forecast period. The number of smart meters tendered by the State Grid of China is also expected to become more stable going forward at around 65-70 million units per year,” said Mattias Carlsson, IoT Analyst at Berg Insight. While East Asia constitutes the most mature smart metering market in Asia-Pacific, the fastest growing markets are on the other hand all found in South and Southeast Asia with a wave of smart metering projects now sweeping across the region. India’s new governmental funding scheme The most significant growth is expected in India where a massive new governmental funding scheme was introduced The most significant growth is expected in India where a massive new governmental funding scheme was introduced in the early 2020s with the goal of achieving the installation of 250 million smart prepayment meters. “India is already reaping the benefits from the modernization of its electricity grid and has in the last two years managed to reduce overall aggregate and technical losses significantly,” continued Mr. Carlsson. Positive developments in South-East Asia In neighboring Bangladesh, large-scale smart electricity metering installations are also emerging in a similar push to install smart prepayment metering by the government. “We also observe positive developments in markets such as Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan – particularly the latter two. The Taiwanese smart metering market is showing stable growth, with a state-owned utility that has a track record of meeting set targets. Indonesia still constitutes a nascent smart metering market, but is also a huge market opportunity with a growing economy and impressive electricity user base of almost 86 million,” concluded Mattias Carlsson.

Between February 27th and 29th, over 17,000 professionals attended this year's DistribuTECH in Orlando, Florida. While AI generated significant buzz during the keynotes, energy remained the predominant topic on the exhibition floor. With more than 600 companies showcasing their products and solutions, the conference provided valuable insights into the future of the utility sector in this region. Private LTE networks for utilities Implementing a private LTE network offers utilities numerous benefits, including enhanced security, control, coverage, and standardization. By bringing the grid online, utilities can collect and utilize data from various grid assets, facilitating comprehensive digital transformation initiatives. Moreover, a private LTE network allows for the consolidation of utility applications onto a single network, providing greater control and future-proofing a network that can continue to evolve to 5G and beyond. Anterix is a company that partners with utilities by leasing out spectrum to them and is the largest holder of licensed spectrum in the 900 MHz band throughout the United States. To date, Anterix has partnered with five utilities and critical infrastructure customers. Leveraging unlicensed spectrum DistribuTECH 2024 marked the inaugural experience at the event  During the conference, discussions around interoperability and standardization in the smart metering industry highlighted the importance of Wi-SUN, an open standard for mesh networks leveraging unlicensed spectrum in the 900 MHz band. Wirepas – a Finnish-based company – has on the other hand pioneered NR+, the world’s first non-cellular 5G standard ratified by the ITU.  The NR+ technology has several advantages, such as the network being self-organizing, making self-healing decisions locally, and operates on the globally designated 1.9 GHz band, a band that was originally used for fixed telephone communications. While the utility sector’s slow adoption rate poses challenges for new technologies, users are eager to monitor developments in North American utility communications technology preferences. DistribuTECH 2024 marked the inaugural experience at the event and it is the best conference out there focusing on transmission and distribution of electricity.