Glass Like Carbon Market Expected to Reach $118.4 Million by 2031—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Glass Like Carbon Market," The glass like carbon market was valued at $82.3 million in 2021, and is estimated to reach $118.4 million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 3.7% from 2022 to 2031.

Glass-like carbon, commonly called glassy carbon or vitreous carbon, is non-graphitizable or non-graphitizing carbon that possesses glassy and ceramic characteristics similar to those of graphite. Low density, low electric resistance, low friction, low thermal resistance, hardness, resistance to high temperatures, extreme resistance to chemical attacks, and impermeability to glass and liquid are some of the remarkable properties of glass-like carbon.

The increase in demand for consumer electronics has surged the popularity of electrochemical coating applications where glass-like carbon is widely used as electrodes. For instance, according to a report published by National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency, India’s export of electronic devices is set to increase from $10 billion in 2021 to $120 billion by 2026. This may enhance the demand for glass-like carbon in the growing electronics sector; thus fuelling the market growth. Furthermore, the rise in disposable income, surge in population, and increase in urbanization has created a massive demand for regular and advanced electronic devices such as washing machines, smartphones, televisions, computers, and others where glass-like carbon-based semiconductors is widely used in integrated circuits. For instance, according to data published by International Data Corporation (IDC), the worldwide shipments for smart home devices have reached 801.5 million units in 2020 which is a 4.5% increase over 2019. This may propel the growth of the glass-like carbon market during the forecast period.

However, the production of glass-like carbon requires highly sophisticated equipment. Also, the isolated chambers used during heat treatment are much costlier. This restrains the manufacturers with low investment potential to enter into the glass-like carbon production; thus, hampering the growth of the glass-like carbon market.

On the contrary, the emergence of compressed form of glassy carbon opens possibilities for aerospace applications where low weight and high strength materials are required. Furthermore, glassy carbon is ultra-strong, lightweight, elastic and electrically conductive that makes it best suited for use in integrated circuits, sensors, semiconductors, and other electronic devices of aircrafts. This factor is predicted to create remunerative opportunities for the expansion of the glass-like carbon market in the future.

The glass-like carbon material market is segmented on the basis of synthesis, application, and region. By synthesis, the market is segregated into low-temperature synthesis and high temperature synthesis. The high temperature synthesis segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue in 2021, with five-seventh of the total share. This is attributed to the fact that high temperature synthesis offers several advantages to the physical behavior of glassy carbon such as higher elastic modulus, greater polarity and wettability, better resistance to oxidation, and lower permeability to gases.

Furthermore, the glassy carbon produced from high temperature synthesis has fewer impurities and is more electrically conductive as compared to glassy carbon produced from low temperature synthesis. These factors have made manufacturers become more linear towards adopting high temperature synthesis.By application, the global glass-like carbon material market is classified into electrode material, surgical implants, semiconductors and electronics, temperature management, and others.

The electrode material application segment dominated the global market, in terms of revenue in 2021, with one-third of the total share. This is attributed to the fact that Rapid technological advancements coupled with rise in R&D activities has surged the development of fuel cell, batteries, and other materials where glassy carbon-based electrodes are widely used for electrochemical applications. For instance, according to a report published by National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, India’s expected demand for advance batteries till 2030 is about 1100 GWh across different use cases.

Region-wise, the glass-like carbon material market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. The Asia-Pacific glass-like carbon material market size is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period, owing to rise in China's electronic sector which has forced the glass-like carbons manufacturers to produce more efficient glassy carbons used in used manufacturing diodes, integrated circuits, sensors, and others. Furthermore, countries such as Japan and Taiwan have a large electronics industry base and consumer electronics appliances industry which in turn has enhanced the performance of glass-like carbon market in the Asia-Pacific region.

Key players operating in the global glass-like carbon material market include ALS Co., Ltd, Bioanalytical Systems, Inc., Final, Advanced Materials, Merck KGaA, Metrohm AG, PalmSens BV, Redoxme AB, Structure Probe, Inc., Tokai Carbon, and XRD Graphite Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

COVID-19 analysis

The novel coronavirus is an incomparable global pandemic that has spread to over 180 countries and caused huge losses of lives and the economy around the globe. The glass-like carbon market has been negatively impacted due to the wake of COVID-19 pandemic owing to its dependence on electronics, automotive, aerospace, and other sectors. According to an article published by The Economic Times, the exports of electronic devices such as computers, smartphones, and others have dipped due to supply chain issues. Also, several electronics companies have either shutdown or shrank their operations due to the risk of infections among the workforce where glass-like carbon is used as semiconductors. This has temporarily hampered the demand for glass-like carbon market amid the COVID-19 period. In addition, the falling income of customers has led to contraction in demand for glass-like carbon based brake pad systems among the automotive sectors.

For instance, according to a report published by Auto News, the sales of passenger cars saw a 30% decline in March 2020 as compared to March 2019, owing to lockdowns and shutdowns of auto plants. In addition, the travel restrictions imposed by the governments of various countries have led the aerospace & aviation sectors to witness temporary downfall.

Moreover, COVID-19 has put a temporary break on various aircraft manufacturing projects which in turn has shrank the demand for compressed form of glass-like carbon for use in semiconductors, sensors, and other electronic aircraft components among the aerospace & aviation sectors. However, the rise in sale of smartphones, laptops, tablets, and other consumer electronic devices has reported a rise in sales during the first quarter of 2021. This is anticipated to enhance the performance of glass-like carbon market for consumer electronics segments post COVID-19 scenario.

Key findings of the study

• By synthesis, the high-temperature synthesis segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 3.8% from 2022 to 2031.
• By application, the electrode material segment is estimated to display the highest growth rate, in terms of revenue, registering a CAGR of 3.9% from 2021 to 2031.
• By region, Europe garnered the highest share of 45.93% in 2021, in terms of revenue, growing at a CAGR of 4.0%.