Optical Coatings Market Growth & Trends

The global optical coatings market size is expected to reach USD 21.7 billion by 2027, expanding at a CAGR of 5.0% from 2020 to 2027, according to a new study by Grand View Research, Inc. The market is estimated to be driven by the growing smart consumer electronics industry across the globe. Rising focus on electricity generation through clean sources is also expected to drive product demand.

Consumer electronic devices include smartphones, tablets, phablets, smartwatches, and smart televisions. Rapid urbanization resulting in changes in consumer lifestyles is expected to create lucrative opportunities for smart consumer electronic devices. This is projected to lead to an increase in the utilization of optical coatings as they have superior optical display and impact resistance properties. Asia Pacific is a major market for consumer electronics owing to the presence of a large number of key players. Demand in the region has shifted toward Southeast Asian countries and this trend is likely to continue over the forecast period.

However, the outbreak of highly contagious COVID-19 across the globe is severely affecting manufacturing industries, which, in turn, is anticipated to negatively impact the demand for optical coatings in various applications, such as consumer electronics, automotive, aerospace, and defense, solar, and architecture. As COVID-19 continues to spread across the world, order cancellations and shipping complications are surging throughout the optical coatings industry.

The reflective coating is anticipated to progress at a substantial growth rate over the forecast period. The rise in the use of this product for roofing applications in the construction industry owing to factors, such as prevention of direct exposure of sunlight on the roof and reduction in cooling cost, is anticipated to propel the demand for reflective coatings over the forecast period.

Demand for both commercial and passenger automobiles has been rising in emerging economies, like South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, India, and China, in light of improving standards of living and population growth. This is projected to benefit the automotive coatings industry, which, in turn, is expected to propel the demand for optical coatings. Furthermore, the increasing requirements for protection against dust, dirt, UV radiation, and harsh climate is anticipated to drive the market in the coming years.

Companies in the market witness fluctuating prices of raw materials, which are driven by factors such as changes in supplier feedstock costs, inventories, demand and supply factors, and government regulations. Therefore, manufacturers have been focusing on developing technologies for efficient coating at a low cost. In addition, key players are continuously engaged in the diversification of their existing product portfolio in order to cater to a large customer base, which ultimately enables a strong foothold in the global market.

Optical Coatings Market Report Highlights

  • North America dominated the market in 2019 both in terms of revenue and volume
  • Anti-reflective coatings emerged as the largest product segment with a share of over 30.0% in 2019. Growing demand for anti-reflective coatings from the solar industry is likely to fuel the segment growth over the forecast period
  • The solar application segment is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Rising demand for solar photovoltaic cells and increasing emphasis on solar energy production in the Asia Pacific, especially in countries, including China, India, and Japan, are anticipated to boost the growth of the solar application segment in the region
  • In April 2020, Alluxa, a U.S.-based optical coatings and filters manufacturer, launched Ultra Series qPCR filter for integration into medical equipment that performs COVID-19 testing of patient samples.