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Tubes & Pipes
Jet engine tubing and layers of mechanical parts .
production plant . The Ukrainian company previously supplied seamless pipes to a German company specialising in hydraulic connections with a high degree of leakage protection in projects using hydrogen and compressed natural gas . In the field of solid oxide fuel cells , JFE Steel is producing a new ferritic grade for interconnectors , which is expected to reduce the cost of generating energy via SOFCs . The Nuclear industry is benefitting from the drive to net zero emissions . About 65 reactors are under construction , and 90 more are planned ; China is in the lead , followed by India , Russia , Egypt and several other countries ( 3 ) . Although larger reactors will predominate , small modular reactors ( SMRs ) are being developed in China , Russia and the USA are expected to play a role . Among the tube makers who will benefit are Alleima , which supplies steam generator tubes for the SMR ); Superior Tube , another supplier to SMRs ; Mannesmann Stainless Tubes , a supplier
of stainless-steel and nickel-alloy seamless tubes and pipes ; UK manufacturer Fine Tubes ; Tubacex , which has been a supplier to EDF as it maintains its reactors in France ; and French supplier Framatome . Semiconductors are a growing and highly strategic industry , further buoyed up by the attention that AI has been receiving . With most of the production capacity being found in China and Taiwan , countries and regions across the world are providing incentives to boost domestic production . The market for semiconductor tubing is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.05 % between 2024 and 2032 . The USA is expected to be the fastestgrowing market ( 4 ) . The demand for Ultra High Purity ( UHP ) tubing is growing because of technological advances . UHP provides the means for safe transport of gases and chemicals such as nitrogen , hydrogen , helium and argon used in fabrication . The need to avoid contamination makes grade 316L the material of choice for UHPs . However , China Minmetals has developed a UHP made of graphite . Aerospace is also an area experiencing growth , now that the Covid-19 seems safely in the rear window . The demand for civil aircraft and space vessels is increasing . Defence spending is also on the rise in several countries . One beneficiary is likely to be Tubacex , whose subsidiary Schoeller-Bleckmann Edelstahlrohr ( SBER ) recently achieved AS / EN9100 certification from the Aerospace Quality Group . Another company that is heavily involved in space vessels is Butting in Germany . Its Cryotech division received an order for Isar Aerospace for 1,100 metres of vacuum-insulated transfer pipe systems . These were prefabricated into a total of 171 spools with a permanent high vacuum . Material 304 / 304L was selected for the process pipe and 316 / 316L for the vacuum envelope .
Conclusion Although the extent and effect of current uncertain market conditions are yet to be experienced , the investment strategies of numerous tube and pipe manufacturers seems to bode well for the future .
Welded stainless-steel tubes . Photos by BUTTING Gruppe GmbH & Co . KG .
References
( 1 ) https :// www . businessresearchinsights . com / market-reports / stainless-steel-pipes-and-tubemarket-106732 . ( 2 ) “ Global Hydrogen Market Valuation is Skyrocketing to Reach US $ 1,657.24 Billion By 2050 ”, globenewswire . com , 27 January 2025 . ( 3 ) https :// world-nuclear . org / informationlibrary / current-and-future-generation / plansfor-new-reactors-worldwide . ( 4 ) https :// www . pwc . com / gx / en / industries / technology / state-of-the-semicon-industry . html ).
40 Heat Exchanger World March 2025 www . heat-exchanger-world . com