Flame Retardants Market Expected to Reach $14.0 Billion by 2030

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "Flame Retardants Market by Type, Application, and End -user Industry: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2030," the global flame retardants market was valued at $7.4 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach $14.0 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.6% from 2021 to 2030.

Flame retardants are diverse group of chemicals that are used to prevent or slow down the fire by variety of physical and chemical methods. It consists of reactive and additive flame-resistant chemicals that can function in both vapor and condensed phase. It is utilized in wide range of end-use sectors, including textiles, plastic manufacturing, chemicals, electronics, automotive, and aerospace.

Increase in population and rise in investment in infrastructure projects surged growth of the building & construction sector. Flame retardants are used in this sector to slow down or hinder the fire and provide sufficient time to evacuate people from building.

For instance, according to a report published by the India Brands Equity Foundation, in December 2021, the construction industry attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow of $25.38 billion from April 200 to June 2021. This may act as one of the key drivers responsible for growth of the flame retardants market in the construction sector. In addition, factors such as increase in disposable income, technological upgrades, and rise in original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) led the automotive sector to witness a significant growth. Flame retardants are used in this sector as automotive foams in under-hood areas, including air intakes, manifolds, pumps, and covers for cams and valves. This may drive the growth of the flame retardants market.

However, exposure to flame retardants through a variety of ways, including consumer products, car, airplane, and workplace may cause several health-related disorders that include neurologic dysfunction, reproductive toxicity, and cancer, causing adverse effects on fetal and child development. In addition, the National Toxicology Program (NTP) received many nominations to study flame retardants, due to lack of information about its toxicity. These factors may restrain the demand for flame retardants among several end-use sectors, thus hampering the market growth.

On the contrary, presently, flame retardant thermoplastics have become the backbone of automotive industries, owing to  commitment of key automobile manufacturers to replace metal parts with flame-retardant plastics. Flame retardants, such as antimony oxide, are used in variety of plastics as they act as smoke suppressants. Moreover, the adoption of flame retardants in electronics and automotive industries increased, owing to extensive adoption of plastics and intricate device miniaturization to prevent electrical sparking/fires. In addition, presently, use of plastics in part of aircrafts, motor vehicles, and electrical products has become a common practice . Thus, the increase in demand for flame retardants in specialty plastics is expected to offer lucrative growth opportunities for the market.

The flame retardants market is segmented on the basis of type, application, end-user industry, and region. 

By type, the market is segregated into alumina trihydrate, brominated flame retardants, antimony trioxide, phosphorous flame retardants, and others. The antimony trioxide segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue in 2020, with 31.5% of the total share. This is attributed to increase in demand for antimony trioxide flame retardant in developing countries such as China and India, owing to increase in consumption of thermoplastics and change in regulatory norms. As per restriction of hazardous substance (RoHS) and waste electrical and electronic consumption (WEEE), brominated flame retardants are restricted, due to adverse effect on the environment. Presently, commitments by major end users to use low smoke fume (LSF) flame retardants, including antimony trioxide, fueled the demand for antimony trioxide.

By application the global market is divided into unsaturated polyester resins, epoxy resins, PVC, rubber, polyolefins, and others. The epoxy resins segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue in 2020, with 23.8% of the total share. This is attributed to growing interests of end users toward phosphorous as an additive to epoxy resins to impart and improve flame retardancy characteristics, which, in turn,  is expected to drive the market.

By end user industry the global market is divided into construction, automotive & transportation, electronics, and others. The electronics segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue in 2020, with 38.1% of the total share. This is attributed to the rapid technological advancement and increase in R&D activities which in turn has surged the demand for various electronic devices where flame retardants are used to keep any chemicals from seeping into the environment or possibly causing health repercussions for consumers.

Region-wise, the flame retardants market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Asia-Pacific flame retardants market size is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to rise in building & construction, electronics, and automotive sectors that have enhanced demand for flame retardants in Asia-Pacific. Moreover, building & construction sector is witnessing a rapid growth, owing to increase in government expenditure for constructing various infrastructure projects in which flame retardants are used for preventing fire . Furthermore, countries such as India and  China witness surge in automotive sector where flame retardants are primarily used in under-hood automotive parts for preventing fire. These factors may propel the growth of flame retardants market in this region.

The key players operating in the global flame retardants market include Albemarle Corporation, BASF SE, DOW, Eastman Chemical Company, Hangzhou Lingrui Chemical Co. Ltd., Hongbaoli Group Co. Ltd., Huntsman International Llc., Lanxess , Muby Chemicals, and Sasol.

COVID-19 Impact Analysis

The novel coronavirus is an incomparable global pandemic that has spread to over 180 countries and caused huge losses of lives and  economy across the globe. COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted the flame retardants market ,owing to its dependence on automotive, aerospace, building & construction, and other sectors. According to a report published by the National Center of Information (NCI) ,in April 2020, automotive industry witnessed 30% decline in sales in March 2020 compared to March 2019, owing to lockdown and shutdown of auto plants. The ongoing health crisis increased the supply-demand gap, hampering the global flame retardants supply chain. In addition, several automotive companies have either shutdown or halted their operations, due to  risk of infections among the workforce where flame retardants are used as automotive foams in under-hood areas such as air intakes, manifolds, pumps, and covers for cams and valves. This temporarily hampered the demand for flame retardants market amid the COVID-19 period. In addition, the falling income of customers and international travel restrictions led to contraction of demand for flame retardants among the aerospace sectors. For instance, according to a report published by Airlines for America, in December 2020,  commercial airline passenger volume in September 2020 was 68% less than that of September 2019, affecting long-term existential threat to manufacturers, the supply chain, and to the entire air travel industry. Furthermore, COVID-19 put a temporary break on various aircraft manufacturing projects, which, in turn, declined the demand for flame retardants among the aerospace & aviation sectors.

Key Findings Of The Study

• The antimony trioxide segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 6.7% from 2021 to 2030.
• The epoxy resins segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 7.2% from 2021 to 2030.
• The electronics segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 7.0% from 2021 to 2030.
• Asia-Pacific garnered the highest share of 37.8% in 2020, in terms of revenue, growing at a CAGR of 7.4%.