Composites Whiskers Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Composites whiskers market size is forecast to reach $XX billion by 2025, after growing at a CAGR of XX% during 2020-2025. The composites whiskers are similar in diameter to fibers, but in general, they are short and have low length-to-diameter ratios, barely exceeding a few hundred. Thus, the difference in the mechanical properties of a whisker compared to bulk material is even more pronounced. This is because the degree of perfection in whiskers is even higher than that in fibers. Composites whiskers can be produced by crystallizing materials on a very small scale and the internal alignment within each whisker is extremely high. Furthermore, the demand for composite whiskers is increasing in various end-use industries due to these advantages, which is anticipated to drive the composites whiskers market substantially during the forecast period.

The report: “Composites Whiskers Market – Forecast (2020-2025)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the composites whiskers industry. 

By Type: Iron Whisker, Silicon Carbide Whisker, Aluminium Oxide Whisker, Beryllium Oxide Whisker, Boron Carbide Whisker, Silicon Nitride Whisker, Graphite Whisker, and Others

By Application: Reinforcement, Crack Inhibitor, and Others

By End-Use Industry: Polymer Matrix Composites, Ceramic Matrix Composites, Metal Matrix Composites, Carbon/Carbon Composites, and Others

By Geography: North-America, South-America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and RoW

The graphite whisker segment held the largest share in the composites whiskers market in 2019, owing to the low cost of graphite whiskers. The graphite whiskers are being extensively obtained by a new continuous procedure at low cost, which consists of the production of vapor grown carbon fibers in fluidized condition and the following graphitization. And, these graphite whiskers materials have mechanical strength close to the binding forces of adjacent atoms, which are suitable reinforcements for the composite system. Moreover, they exhibit a high degree of flexibility, tensile strengths up to 2000 kg‐mm−2, Young's modulus above 7×1012 dyne‐cm−2, and values of room‐temperature resistivity of around 65 μohm‐cm, which approximates the single crystal value, which is anticipated to boost the demand for graphite whisker composites market during the forecast period.

The composites whiskers reinforcement held the largest share in the composites whiskers market in 2019. The composites whiskers reinforcement is a random orientation of short fibers.  The composites whiskers reinforcement is easier to process in the composite (as a matrix material). Also, the composites whiskers reinforcement offers regular prismatic cross-sections, less wear and tear on processing equipment, which is expected to increase the demand of whiskers as reinforcement for various composite materials during the forecast period.

The Metal Matrix Composites (MMC) held the largest share in the composites whiskers market in 2019 and is growing at a CAGR of XX%, owing to its superior physical and mechanical characteristics such as high-temperature resistance, low density, increased strength, low coefficient of thermal expansion, ductility, bendability, excellent creep, wear and fatigue resistance. All these extensive properties of metal matrix composites enhance its toughness. The continuous fiber-reinforced metal matrix composites provide the highest properties in the direction of the fiber orientation but are the most expensive whereas the whisker reinforced metal matrix composites materials can produce significant property improvements in the plane or direction of their orientation, at a somewhat lower cost, which is expected to increase the demand of composites whiskers from the metal matrix composites manufacturers during the forecast period. 

Europe region held the largest share in the composites whiskers market in 2019 up to 28%, owing to support from the national governments and investment in the respective domestic markets in the region. The rising application of nanomaterials in various end-use industries such as electronics, automotive, and aviation in the U.K., Germany, and Russia is the main factor behind the dominance of the European composites whiskers market. In 2016, the German government introduced The Action Plan Nanotechnology 2020 inter-departmental support strategy for nanotechnology in the period 2016–2020. It thus follows the objective of enduring to exploit the opportunities and potential of nanotechnology in Germany, without disregarding any potential risks to humans and the environment. The government of the United Kingdom launched the National Composite Centre (NNC) with £16m of UK Government funding to research ways composite structures can be produced cost-effectively and quickly. Thus, the various investments by the government in the field of nanocomposites in Europe are anticipated to drive the composites whiskers market in the region during the forecast period.

There is an increasing demand for composites whiskers materials in aircraft as it reduces airframe weight, enables better fuel economy, and therefore lowers operating costs. The use of whisker composites such as aluminum oxide whisker and graphite whiskers in wings can reduce the weight of the aircraft. It also offers finer strength to weight ratio, high chemical resistance, high stiffness, and low thermal expansion. Also, its mechanical properties can be tailored according to the application. In 2016, according to Boeing, China is estimated to require around 6,810 new commercial aircraft, valued at USD 1 trillion, over the next two decades. According to China’s 13th Five Year Plan (2016-2020), by 2020, China will have more than 4,500 civil aircraft, and by 2018, the number of Chinese civil airports had grown to 235. Also, according to Boeing India is expected to drive the demand for 2,300 aircrafts worth US$320 billion over the next 20 years. The increasing aviation industry acts as a driver for the composites whiskers market.

The whisker reinforced metal matrix composites due to its extensive set of properties such as low density, high strength-to-weight ratio, high-temperature strength retention, exceptional fatigue and wear resistance have the potential to replace cast iron and other materials in automotive engines and brakes. The metal matrix composites are developed. In 2018, according to OICA, the automotive production in India, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia has increased up to 5174645, 2167694, 1343714 and 564800, i.e., 8.0%, 9.0%, 10.3%, and 12.2% higher than the previous year due to the rising per capita income of the individuals. According to the International Trade Administration (ITA), China is the world’s largest vehicle market and the Chinese government is expecting that automobile production will reach 30 million units by 2020 and 35 million by 2025. Thus, the increasing automation production will require more whisker reinforced metal matrix for manufacturing various automotive parts such as diesel engine pistons, cylinder liners, brake drums and brake rotors, which is anticipated to propel the composites whiskers market during the forecast period.

The composites whiskers confer advanced properties because of their higher aspect ratio (length divided by diameter). However, composites whiskers are brittle and tend to break up into shorter lengths during processing. This reduces their reinforcement efficiency and makes the much higher cost of whisker reinforcement hard to account for. They also tend to get oriented leading to unwanted anisotropy in composites. It is also very difficult to carry out large-scale manufacturing of whiskers that are defect-free. Thus, they are very expensive. However, cost projections show that although this difference will decrease as production volumes increase. Thus, the high cost of composites whiskers may hinder the composites whiskers market growth during the forecast period.

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the composite whiskers end-use industries are facing issues such as delays in receiving matrix composites from the manufacturers due to the restriction on import and export of materials. Furthermore, China, a major supplier of chemicals to the world registered a considerable decline in manufacturing in the first quarter of 2020, following the trajectory, unfolded by COVID-19's escalation to a pandemic. Also, the shipment orders are being heavily affected due to the non-availability of vessels and blank sailing. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on aviation and the automotive industry. The production of automotive and aircraft has been disruptively stopped, contributing to a major loss in the total automotive and aerospace sectors. With the decrease in automotive and aircraft production, the demand for composite whiskers for manufacturing various parts has significantly fallen, which is having a major impact on the composites whiskers market.

Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the composites whiskers market. In 2019, the market of composites whiskers has been consolidated by the top five players accounting for xx% of the share. Major players in the composites whiskers market are DuPont, Toray Industries Inc., Nippon Tungsten, Hongwu International Group Ltd., and Xuzhou Jiechuang New Material Technology Co., LTD.