Organic Rankine Cycle Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Waste Heat Recovery, Biomass, Geothermal, Solar Thermal, Oil & Gas, Waste To Energy), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030

Report Overview

The global organic rankine cycle market size was estimated at USD 830.19 million in 2022 and is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.1% from 2023 to 2030. This growth is mainly aided by consumers choosing renewable energy, along with ORC systems being durable and cheap to maintain. However, the organic rankine cycle (ORC) technology faces tough competition from the Steam Rankine Cycle (SRC) technology. SRC is used in similar areas as ORC, such as geothermal, biomass, waste heat recovery, and solar thermal. This competition might slow down the growth of the market in the coming years.

The U.S. has been a leader in using and developing ORC technology globally. This is because the U.S. has a lot of geothermal reserves, making it a significant region for the ORC market. ORMAT, a leader in the ORC sector, plays a big role by providing ORC equipment and services for geothermal projects. They manage a substantial amount of geothermal and recovered energy projects in the U.S.

In 2022, North America, including the U.S., was the leading region for the market. Geothermal projects were the most popular, making up the largest portion of the ORC market in 2022. Geothermal projects are usually bigger than biomass or waste heat recovery projects, contributing to this trend. As the focus on clean energy grows and policies and financial support becomes more widely available, the demand for ORC installations is expected to rise in North America.

Countries such as the U.S., China, Germany, and Canada are increasingly adopting renewable energy. Support from their respective governments and financial help drive this growth. For example, countries offer incentives including reduced taxes and subsidies to attract investments in renewable energy. These actions will likely boost the ORC industry in the near future.

Application Insights

The geothermal segment led the market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 60.58% in 2022. The major reason for the dominance of the geothermal segment is due to the large-scale megawatt capacity of these projects as compared to other application segments such as biomass, waste heat recovery, and solar thermal. Each geothermal project is usually of a capacity exceeding 10 MW, while ORC-based projects in other areas are not always of equivalent capacities, being generally less than 1 to 2 MW.

Countries with high geothermal potential such as the U.S., Turkey, Kenya, New Zealand, and Indonesia have taken significant steps to utilize this potential to the maximum. For instance,  in November 2022, Orcan Energy and Baseload Capital successfully initiated a project for harnessing waste heat generated at ongoing oilfield operations at the San Ardo gas and oil field in California, U.S. This project is an example of leveraging existing oil and gas wells to generate dependable and economically efficient renewable power.

Regional Insights

North America dominated the market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 43.96% in 2022. Within this region, the U.S. dominated the ORC market, owing to the high geothermal potential in the country. Further, the U.S. has taken active steps to enhance the deployment of geothermal potential for power generation applications from the past. ORMAT has been the major company working in the U.S. to tap geothermal potential in the country by using its ORC technology.

This factor is expected to make the U.S. very dominant in the North American region for the ORC market during the forecast period. The availability of large geothermal potential in Turkey serves as the major driver for the ORC market in Europe.The European market for Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is primarily driven by the implementation of favorable policies and support mechanisms for the advancement of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

Furthermore, new ORC-based geothermal power projects are under construction and are expected to be commissioned during the forecast period in countries such as Turkey and France. For instance, Turboden is constructing an 11 MW ORC-based geothermal power project in France for Fonroche Geothermie, which is expected to commence operations during the projection period. Such developments will lead the geothermal application segment to grow strongly in the coming years in the region.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

Key players in the market include Ormat, Turboden, and Exergy, along with the presence of a few medium- and small-sized regional players. Leading market players compete based on their product development capabilities and new technologies used in product formulations. Companies such as Turboden are investing in the development of innovative ORC systems that give them an edge over their competitors.

For instance, in January 2023, Nikkiso Clean Energy & Industrial Gases Group expanded its service and sales abilities across the Middle East region. Nikkiso Clean Energy and Industrial Gases Middle East QFZ LLC has established its operations in the Qatar-based Business Innovation Park in Ras Bufontas. Some of the prominent players operating in the global organic rankine cycle market include:

• Turboden S.p.A.

• Exergy International Srl

• Zhejiang Kaishan Compressor Co., Ltd.

• Enogia SAS

• Triogen

• Calnetix Technologies, LLC

• ABB

• Atlas Copco AB

• TAS Energy Inc. (TAS)

• Elvosolar, a.s.

Organic Rankine Cycle Market Report Scope

Global Organic Rankine Cycle Market Report Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue and volume growth at the global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2018 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global organic rankine cycle market report based on application and region:

• Application Outlook (Volume, MW; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Waste Heat Recovery

    • Petroleum Refinery

    • Chemical

    • Glass

    • Cement

    • Metal Production and Casting (Iron & Steel)

  • Biomass

  • Geothermal

  • Solar Thermal

  • Oil & Gas (Gas pipeline pressure stations)

  • Waste To Energy

• Regional Outlook (Volume, MW; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • Turkey

    • Italy

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Japan

    • Thailand

  • Central & South America

  • Middle East & Africa