High Purity Alumina Market Expected to Reach $4.8 Billion by 2026

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “High Purity Alumina Market:  Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020–2026,” the global high purity alumina market was valued at $1.3 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $4.8 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 20.7% from 2020 to 2026.

High purity alumina (HPA) is an end product of the non-metallurgical alumina. It is a high-value product that serves as a base material for the manufacturing of sapphire substrates that are utilized in various applications such as scratch-resistant artificial sapphire glass, light-emitting diodes (LED), and semiconductor wafers.

The high purity alumina market is mainly driven by its increase in applications in semiconductors, LED lighting, lithium ion batteries, plasma display screen, phosphor, hybrid cars, optical lenses, sodium lamps, and smartphone sapphire glass. In addition, increase in demand for high purity alumina from LED lighting industry, owing to stringent government regulations on production, import, and sale of incandescent lights is expected to fuel the growth of the LED lighting market; thereby, boosting the growth of this market. In addition, HPA is used in the manufacturing of lithium ion batteries. Therefore, increase in demand for lithium ion batteries due to surge in demand for electric cars globally in order to curb carbon emission is expected to increase the demand for high-purity alumina. Furthermore, due to COVID-19 pandemic outbreak across the globe the demand for bio medical devices has been surged significantly to treat the patients affected from corona virus. In addition, the patients suffering from other diseases such as heart and orthopedic diseases that require surgical treatments need the bio medical devices such as pacemakers and orthopedic pin. Furthermore, rise in number of patients suffering from COVID-19 pandemic and other diseases that requires bio medical devices for treatment is expected to drive the demand for HPA.

However, surge in pricing of HPA and stringent government regulations on the extraction of "Red Mud" can hamper the growth of global high purity alumina market. On the contrary, growing demand for high purity alumina from the emerging economies such as China and India due to upsurge in demand for LED bulbs and rapidly growing medical sector are expected to offer remunerative opportunities for high purity alumina market growth in the near future.

Based on type, 4N high purity alumina is expected to maintain its dominant position throughout the analysis period. 4N HPA finds its major demand in LED bulbs and electronic displays. Leading companies in this market are spending more on R&D to offer product customization as per the requirements of the application areas. Government support, leading to growing adoption of LEDs, coupled with less cost compared with other types of HPA is expected to drive the market for 4N HPA during the forecast period. 

Based on technology, the market is bifurcated into hydrolysis and hydrochloric acid leaching (HCL). Hydrolysis is the most adopted technique to manufacture HPA. Orbite Technologies is the first to start the commercial production of HPA using the HCL process; thereby, reducing the cost of HPA.

Based on application, the LED bulb segment dominated for around 50% high purity alumina market share, in terms of volume, in 2019. Change in shift from traditional incandescent light bulbs to energy-efficient LED lighting systems is driving the market for LEDs. LED lighting has been increasingly adopted by both developed and developing countries to reduce the energy consumption; thereby, driving the demand for HPA, which is the main raw ingredient of LED.

Region wise, the high purity alumina market size is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Asia-Pacific accounted for more than half of the total high purity alumina market in 2019, and is expected to maintain its lead position during the forecast period, owing to increase in domestic production of energy-efficient lightings, such as LEDs. China is one of the largest countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and is expected to continue its dominance during the analysis period in terms of volume and revenue, since it is a hub for LED manufacturing in Asia-Pacific

Covid-19 Analysis: 

• The alumina refiners across the countries such as China and India have huge opportunities to grow and generate maximum revenue as government of these countries is slowly lifting the lockdown restrictions to start the industrial activities. Due to this, the demand for aluminum and its products across the automotive and construction industries across these countries and globally is expected to increase, which is anticipated to drive the demand for high-purity alumina.

• The smart lighting manufacturing industry that manufactures LED lights is likely to get hampered due to COVID-19 outbreak as the manufacturers are facing supply shortage of artificial sapphire substrates, which are manufactured using high-purity alumina. Declining production of alumina across the globe is likely to restrain the growth of the smart lighting industry.

• The high purity alumina is broadly used in electronic industry in manufacturing of displays for tablets, smartphones, and smartwatches. Due to decline in production of high-purity alumina, owing to lockdown amid COVID-19 outbreak is anticipated to affect the production of high-quality products for power modules in electronic industry.

Key Findings Of The Study

• The North America high purity alumina market is projected to grow at a highest CAGR of nearly 21.7%, in terms of revenue, during the forecast period.

• The 5N high purity alumina is anticipated to witness moderate growth rate of 21.4%, in terms of revenue, during the forecast period.

• Asia-Pacific dominated the high purity alumina market with a revenue share of over 69.7% in 2019.

• The Li-ion batteries is anticipated to witness moderate growth rate of 25.6%, in terms of revenue, during the forecast period.

• The HCL leaching technology is anticipated to witness moderate growth rate of 23.8%, in terms of revenue, during the forecast period.

The key players operating in the global high purity alumina industry include Norsk Hydro ASA, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., Baikowski SAS, Alcoa Inc., Nippon Light Metal Holdings Company, Ltd., Altech Chemicals Ltd., Zibo Honghe Chemical Co. Ltd., Sasol, and Xuan Cheng Jing Rui New Material Co. Ltd., and Hebei Pengda Advanced Materials Technology Co., Ltd.