Flexible Insulation Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Flexible Insulation Market Overview

Flexible Insulation market size is forecast to reach US$4.1 billion by 2027, after growing at a CAGR of 5.2% during 2022-2027. Flexible Insulation provides excellent protection from the cold in winter and keeps interiors cool in the summer irrespective of the temperature outside. Flexible Insulation is widely used in HVAC systems, auto components, refrigeration, and others in various end-use industries like automotive, marine, building & construction, medical, and others. Acoustic insulation is a type of soundproofing system that helps to prevent sound from entering or exiting an enclosed space by creating a barrier between the interior and the exterior area using materials like cross linked polyethylene, polyolefin, and others. According to Household Energy Efficiency Detailed Release 2021, 14.3 million properties had cavity wall insulation, 16.6 million had loft insulation and 772,000 had solid wall insulation by the end of 2020. Therefore, the growing insulation of the building & construction sector, automotive, and others will boost the flexible insulation market during the forecast period.

COVID-19 Impact

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a major challenge for the flexible insulation market owing to nationwide lockdown, the production process of various industries like automotive, construction, energy, and others declined due to the non-functioning of the manufacturing plants. Economies of each sector got affected and resulted in stagnation of activities across the sectors that use flexible insulation to minimize the risk of virus spread. According to The European Automobile Manufacturers Association, automotive production has been declined by 21.5% in Europe, China 2.2%, Japan & Korea 14.5%, North America 20.5%, South America 31.1%, South Asia 29.2%, Middle East & Africa 15.1%. Although the demand from many key-use industries decreased, the demand from the healthcare industry boosted the sales of flexible insulation during the year 2020. The flexible insulation market is also estimated to gradually increase during the forecast period.

Report Coverage

The report: “Flexible Insulation Market Report – Forecast (2022-2027)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Flexible Insulation industry.

By Material: Fiber Glass, Elastomer, Aerogel, Cellulose, and Others.
By Insulation Type: Electrical Insulation, Thermal Insulation, Acoustic Insulation.
By Application: HVAC systems, Auto Component, Refrigeration, Pipeline, Vessels, Motors, Generators, Tire, Power Train, Transformers, and Others.By End-Use Industry: Transportation (Automotive, Aerospace & Defense, Marine, Railways) Building & Construction (Residential, Commercial, Infrastructure, Others), Electric & Electronics, Healthcare, Oil & Gas, Consumer Goods, Energy, Industrial, Others.
By Geography: North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Russia, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zeeland, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Rest of APAC), and Rest of the World: The Middle East(Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, Rest of the Middle East) and Africa(South Africa, Nigeria, Rest of Africa). 

Key Takeaways

• Europe is expected to register a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period (2022-2027) owing to strict energy building standard concurrence by the government of Europe for improving the performance of buildings driven by Germany, Spain, and others.
• Rapidly rising demand for acoustic insulation in the transportation sector for soundproofing applications owing to the rising concerns for disturbance-free driving experiences has driven the growth of the flexible insulation market.
• The growing demand for flexible insulation in various applications such as auto components, HVAC systems ducts, and others, is driving the flexible insulation market.

Figure: Asia Pacific Flexible Insulation Market Revenue, 2021-2027 (US$ Billion)

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Flexible Insulation Market Segment Analysis – By Material

The fiberglass segment accounted for around 40% of the market share in 2021 and is estimated to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. The fiberglass is widely used in refrigeration, flexible air ducts, HVAC system, and other applications for various end-use industries like building & construction, transportation, energy, and others owing to excellent features like corrosion-resistant nature, lightweight, non-combustible, high tear strength, and others with the help of cross-linked polyethylene. According to the International Energy Agency, space cooling demand continued to rise in 2020 globally, driven greater by home cooling as more people spent more time at home. Space cooling accounted for nearly 16% of the buildings sector's final electricity consumption in 2020. Therefore, the use of fiberglass HVAC systems for building & construction will boost demand for flexible insulation during the forecast period.

Flexible Insulation Market Segment Analysis - By Insulation Types

The thermal insulation segment held the largest share in 2021 and is estimated to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period owing to the high water vapor diffusion resistance and low thermal conductivity. Thermal insulation is widely used in building to maintain satisfactory temperature by heating or cooling which increases the demand for HVAC systems. According to the European Parliament, the construction sector of Europe is expected to increase by 3.4% in 2022, and 2.4% in 2023. The thermal flexible insulation is also used in spacecraft, refrigeration, automotive, and others. Therefore, the growing construction, automotive, energy, and other industries will boost the demand for thermal flexible insulation segments which in turn drive the flexible insulation market during the forecast period.

Flexible Insulation Market Segment Analysis – By End-Use Industry

Building and construction sector accounted for approximately 24% of the market share in 2021 and is estimated to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period. The thermal energy through walls, ceilings, and floors. In simple terms, this helps to keep heated interior space warmer in the winter, and air-conditioned spaces cooler in the summer using materials like polytetrafluoroethylene, Polyolefin, and others. Reducing the transmission of thermal energy not only makes spaces more comfortable but is also essential to controlling energy costs. An increase in construction activities across the globe is driving the demand for the flexible insulation market. According to the construction products associations, the construction product market of the UK is having significant growth currently and is forecast to rise by 6.3% in 2022. According to Statistics Sweden, the total number of authorized building permits for residential is 1, 864, in the first quarter, 2, 520 in the second quarter, and 1,764 in the third of 2021. According to Plastic Europe, the construction industry has grown by 5.7% between the first and third quarters of 2021 as compared to 2020. This will eventually drive the need and demand for Flexible Insulation in the construction industry as it is widely used as polyvinyl acetate in paintings & coatings, sealants, bonding, and adhesion in various applications in the construction industry such as joint blocking, bonding layer in flooring and roofing and many more during the forecast period.

Flexible Insulation Market Segment Analysis - By Geography

Europe region held the largest share in the flexible insulation market in 2021 up to 32%, owing to the growing energy-efficient building, acoustic insulation system in transportations and others in countries like France, Germany, Spain, and others will boost the demand for primers, HVAC systems, and others during the forecast period. Also strict regulation regarding energy-efficient buildings is driving the market. According to European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), commercial vehicle registrations in the European Union increased by 9.6% to reach 1,880,682 units, as compared to 2020. The new buses and coaches registration increased by 6.8% compared to December 2020 with 3,855 units. Double-digit growth was recorded in Italy with 40.7%, France 38.7%, and Germany 26.6%. Therefore, the growing transportation and construction sector will be boosting the demand for the flexible insulation market during the forecast period.

Flexible Insulation Market Drivers:

The growing need for Energy Efficient Buildings

The growing need for energy-efficient buildings is mainly due to electricity emission from buildings from different electronic devices like air conditioners, coolers, fans, and others. The most common energy-efficient building feature is a solar-paneled rooftop to support general energy demands and green technology creates enough emission-less electricity which helps in the reduction of greenhouse gases. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, building operations accounted for 28% of global emissions while construction-related industries like cement, glass, and others added another 10% of emissions. Therefore, growing emission from a building is boosting demand for flexible insulation from the building and construction owing to improving the temperature of the building is driving the flexible insulation market during the forecast period.

 Increasing demand for flexible insulation in the Transportation Sector

Flexible Insulation is widely used in the transportation sector to absorb, deflect and reduce noise to prevent transmission of sound using an acoustic insulation system. Plastic foams, including Expanded PolyStyrene EPS and Extruded polystyrene (XPS), are profoundly used for the insulation for seats, heat shields, battery insulation, and others. According to General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the preliminary aircraft deliveries were valued at US$25.2 billion, with an increase of 10.2% in 2021 as compared to 2020. The piston airplane deliveries increase 5.5%, with 1,393 units; turboprop airplane deliveries increase 19.0%, with 527 units; and business jet deliveries increase 10.2%, with 710 units. Therefore, the growing production of aircraft will increase the demand for acoustic insulation across the globe which in turn, will boost the demand for flexible insulation during the forecast period.

Flexible Insulation Market Challenges:

Higher Price for the Flexible Insulation 

The cost of flexible insulation is much higher as compared to traditional lagging and cladding insulation techniques. The reason behind this is its production cost while producing flexible insulation Products. The machinery and the equipment which are used are tagged with higher expense, also, these machinery require high maintenance. Owing to this factor, the product of flexible insulation comes with a higher price as compared to its alternative materials, which tends to constrain the growth of the market. Generally, the price of flexible insulation ducts pipe is around US$25 to US$30. In addition, even if the flexible insulation provides better results, the customer usually prefers the cheaper product and lacks of awareness of the product. Such factors have become the major challenge of flexible insulation in terms of consumption, which constrains the growth of the market.

Flexible Insulation Industry Outlook

Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the flexible insulation market. 

Global flexible insulation top 10 companies include:

1. Saint-Gobain
2. Armacell, International S.A
3. BASF SE
4.  Johns Manville Corporation
5. Owens Corning
6. Knauf Insulation Inc
7. Dow Corning Corporation
8. Cabot Corporation
9.  Thermaxx Jackets
10. Continental AG 

Recent Developments 

• In March 2022, Armacell has launched a new halogen-free insulation material, NH/ArmaFlex Smart. Based on a highly innovative foam technology, NH/ArmaFlex Smart is more flexible than conventional halogen-free elastomeric insulation material and easier to install.
• In January 2022, Armacell, a global leader in flexible foam, a leading provider of engineered foams for the equipment insulation market has acquired the engineering business of SpiderPlus & Co. Ltd. Tokyo, Japan, manufactures and supplies thermal insulation solutions for piping and ductwork. SpiderPlus & Co. Ltd also has a proven track record with Armacell solutions and has serviced the local construction and HVAC industries with ArmaFlex products for the past 20 years.
• In May 2020, Armacell, a global leader in flexible foam for the equipment insulation market and a leading provider of engineered foams, announced the launch of operations of its PET foam extrusion line at the Suzhou facility close to Shanghai.

Relevant Reports 

Building Insulation Market – Forecast (2022 - 2027)
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Fireproof Insulation Market – Forecast (2022 - 2027)
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Polyurethane Foam Insulation Materials Market - Forecast (2021 - 2026)
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