CF & CFRP Market worth $31.5 billion by 2025

Friday 9 October 2020, Amsterdam

The report "CF & CFRP Market by Source (Virgin, Recycled), Precursor (PAN, Pitch, Rayon), Resin (Thermosetting, Thermoplastic), Manufacturing Process, End-use Industry, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025", is projected to grow from USD 17.5 billion in 2020 to USD 31.5 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 12.4% during the forecast period. The market is growing due to the increase in the demand for high-performance materials, with low weight, high strength-to-weight ratio, good tensile strength, and electrical conductivity.

PAN precursor comprise a major share of the Carbon Fiber market
PAN-based carbon fiber is a type of fiber produced by the carbonization of PAN precursor. Having high tensile strength and high elastic modulus, it is used extensively for structural material composites in aerospace & defense, automotive, and sporting goods industries. The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in the disruption in the supply chain, resulting in reduced demand for PAN precursor based carbon fiber from the end-use industries.

Virgin carbon fiber accounted for the largest share in the global Carbon Fiber market in terms of value and volume.
Virgin carbon fiber accounted for dominating share in the global carbon fiber market. Virgin carbon fiber is made from precursors such as PAN and pitch. These fibers find applications in various aerospace & defense, wind energy, sporting goods, and other industries. Virgin carbon fiber offers better thermal and mechanical properties than recycled carbon fiber. They are preferred over recycled carbon fiber in high performance applications.

These materials find applications in the structural components and interior components in various end-use industries. With the outbreak of COVID-19, there is a reduced demand for carbon fiber materials in the composite industry. This has forced the carbon fiber manufacturers to operate at partial or reduced capacities.

Thermosetting resin accounted for the largest share in the global CFRP market in terms of value and volume.
Thermosetting resins hold the largest share in the global CFRP market. This dominance is attributed to its unique properties, such as excellent resistance to solvents & corrosives, fatigue strength, tailored elasticity, excellent adhesion, and finishing. Also, thermosetting resins offer easier processing than thermoplastic resins as they are in a liquid form at room temperature, allowing convenient impregnation of the reinforcing fiber. The reduced demand for new commercial and business aircraft from the aviation industry due to the COVID-19 slowdown has resulted in a decline in the need for thermosetting CFRP materials.

The Lay-up process is expected to account for the largest share in the CF & CFRP market during the forecast period.
The lay-up process holds the largest st share, in terms of value, in 2019. This large share is attributed to the developed aerospace & defense industry and recovery of the marine industry at the global level. The lay-up process includes hand lay-up and spray-up, widely used for carbon fiber composite components manufacturing for aerospace & defense and marine industries for a wide range of products.

The market for the lay-up process is expected to decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decline in the market is attributed to decreased demand for composites for manufacturing structural components of aircraft as OEMs, such as Boeing, Airbus, and Embraer, are expected to reduce aircraft manufacturing in 2020.

Europe is expected to account for the largest share in the CFRP market during the forecast period.
Europe accounted for the largest market share in the CFRP market due to high demand from aerospace & defense and wind energy end-use industries. Moreover, it is home to many key aerospace composite manufacturers, such as SGL Carbon, Solvay, and TenCate. Increased deliveries of Airbus aircraft primarily drives the composites material demand in Europe. Apart from this, the region develops military aircraft and helicopters.  The Europen region is a leader in offshore wind energy installations. The European region is one of the worst affected by the COVID-19, resulting in decreased industrial and economic activities across all major countries such as Germany, France, the UK, Italy, and France.

The major manufacturers profiled in this report include Solvay (Belgium), Toray Industries, Inc. (Japan), Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings (Japan), Hexcel Corporation (US), Teijin Limited (Japan), SGL Group (Germany), and Hyosung (South Korea). These companies are involved in adopting various inorganic and organic strategies to increase their foothold in the CF & CFRP market.