Global Non-Oxide Ceramics Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Global Non-Oxide Ceramics Market Overview

Global non-oxide ceramics market size is estimated to reach US$2.9 billion by 2027, after growing at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2022-2027. Non-oxide ceramics are technical ceramics which are covalent bonded and have high thermal conductivity, oxidation resistance and when exposed to corrosive environment, it forms protective film which makes it corrosion resistance. The non-oxide ceramics include carbides, nitrides, borides such as silicon nitride, silicon carbide, boron carbide etc. which has application ranging from super hard abrasives, cutting tools, heat exchangers to high-temperature semiconductor. Non-oxide ceramics due to their high corrosion and temperature resistance properties, has high applicability in sectors like automotive, energy & power, medical, aerospace, metallurgy, and electronics. Hence, factors like increase in steel production, high production of automotive, growing sales of semiconductors, and growing solar power projects are driving growth of global non-oxide ceramics market. However, the production process of non-oxide ceramics is expensive and leads to high manufacturing cost, which can hamper the growth of global non-oxide ceramics industry.

COVID-19 Impact

Measures like, lockdown, quarantining, trade regulations and restriction on public movement, that were implemented by countries to prevent the wide spread of COVID-19, left a negative impact on the major sectors like automotive, energy, and electronics. Such sectors are major end users of non-oxide ceramics like silicon nitride and silicon carbide. For instance, as per the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, in 2020 there was a 16% decline in global vehicles production. Also, as per U.S Energy Information Administration, in 2020, 53 solar photovoltaic projects totaling 1.3GW of capacity were delayed as a result of the pandemic. Further, as per Semiconductor Industry Association, in 2020, the first quarter sale of semi-conductor in the U.S decreased by 3.6% compared to an increase of 6.9% for the same period in 2019. Silicon nitride is used in automotive engine components like turbochargers, and helps in reducing engine lag and emission. Silicon carbide is used in semiconductor for e-vehicle batteries and as invertor. It is used in solar power plants to transfer energy from photovoltaic arrays to electric grids. Hence, due to lack of availability of raw materials and workers, the productivity of these sectors went down, which reduced the usage of non-oxide ceramics in them, thereby negatively impacting the growth of global non-oxide ceramics industry.

Report Coverage

The report: “Global Non-Oxide Ceramics Market Report – Forecast (2022 – 2027)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Global Non-Oxide Ceramics Industry

By Type – Silicon Carbide, Silicon Nitride, Aluminum Nitride, Boron Nitride, Boron Carbide, and Tungsten Carbide.
By Application – Abrasives, Pump Components (Impellers, Seals, Shafts, Spindles, Nozzles), Semiconductor, Engine Parts (Valves, Turbocharger Rotor, Gas Turbines, Spark Plugs, Catalyst Carriers), Steel Manufacturing, Cutting Tools, Suction Box Covers, Heat Exchangers, and Others (Sand Blasting Injection, Bullet Proof vest, Valve Parts).
By End-user – Automotive (Passenger Vehicles, Heavy Commercial Vehicles, Light Commercial Vehicles, E-Vehicles), Energy & Power Industry (Solar Power, Hydro Power, Wind Power), Metallurgy, Medical, Electronics, Aerospace, Military & Defense, and Others (Food & Beverage, Chemicals, Paper).
By Geography - North America (USA, Canada, Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherland, Spain, Russia, Belgium, Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Rest of South America), Rest of the World (Middle East, Africa).

Key Takeaways

• Asia-Pacific dominates the global non-oxide ceramics industry as the region consist of major end users like automotive, metallurgy, electronics, and power sectors in China, India, Japan, and South Korea.
• The ball bearing made from silicon nitride has higher corrosion resistance and operation temperature due to which it has high applicability in industrial bearings, wind turbines, motorsports, bicycles, rollerblades, and skateboards.
• In medical sector, silicon nitride due to its high mechanical and surface chemicals properties is being used for interbody spinal fusion cages and for total joint arthroplasty.

Figure: Asia-Pacific Global Non-Oxide Ceramics Market Revenue, 2021-2027 (US$ Billion)

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Global Non-Oxide Ceramics Market Segment Analysis – By Type

Silicon nitride held a significant share in global non-oxide ceramics market in 2021, with a share of over 27.0%. Silicon nitride has higher strength, superior thermal & chemical stability, exhibits high temperature strength and improved thermal shock resistance. Hence, due to such rich properties, silicon nitride forms the ideal material for automotive and aerospace components. The rapid development in these sectors has increase their scale of productivity which has positively impacted the demand for silicon nitride. For instance, as per International Organization of Motor Vehicles Manufacturers, in 2021, the global vehicle production for January to September period was 57.2 million, showing an increase of 9.7% compared to 2019 same period. Moreover, in 2021 Airbus increased the production rate of A320 Family aircraft from 43 aircraft in Q3 to 45 in Q4 and it increased the monthly production rate of A322 from 5 to 6 aircraft per month. Silicon carbide is majorly used for making automotive turbochargers that improves engine’s performance, and it is also used in making aircrafts parts like ball bearings, RF windows, and radomes. The increase in productivity in these sectors will create more usage of non-oxide ceramics like silicon nitride, which will positively impact the growth of global non-oxide ceramics industry.

Global Non-Oxide Ceramics Market Segment Analysis – By End User

Automotive sector held a significant share in global non-oxide ceramics market in 2021, with a share of over 22.5%. Major non-oxide ceramics like silicon nitride and silicon carbide finds major application in automotive sector. Silicon nitride is used for making engine components like rocker arm pads, turbochargers, and exhaust gas control valves while silicon carbide is used in semiconductors batteries and heat exchanger in e-vehicles. Technological advancements and rapid urbanization have increased the consumption of manual and electric vehicles, which has positively impacted the usage of non-oxide ceramics in automotive sector. For instance, as per Europe Automobile Manufacturer Association, in 2021, the new passenger car registration in the first ten months increased up to 2.2% with an increase shown in European Union markets like Italy showed 12.7%, Spain showed 5.6% and France showed 3.1%. Also, another report by European Automobile Manufacturing Association, the production of e-vehicles increased up to 11% in 2020 from 3% in 2019 in the EU. The increase in production and consumption of these automotive segments will lead to more usage of non-oxide ceramics like silicon nitride and silicon carbide.

Global Non-Oxide Ceramics Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

Asia-Pacific held the largest share in global non-oxide ceramics market in 2021, with a share of over 30.1%. The region consists of major economies like China, India, Japan, and South Korea which consist of major end user of non-oxide ceramics like automotive & power industry. Economic development in such nations has increased the industrial productivity of these sectors. For instance, as per the 2021 report of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association on global vehicle production, China produced 32% of 74 million cars manufactured worldwide with Japan & Korea producing 16%. Also, as per the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, India increased its solar power capacity eleven times in the past five years from 2.6GW in 2014 to 30GW in 2019. Silicon nitride is used in automotive engines and silicon carbide is used in solar invertors and heat exchangers in solar power plants. Hence, the growing production volume in these sectors will create more usage of such non-oxide ceramics in them, which will increase the growth rate of global non-oxide ceramics industry in Asia-Pacific region.

Global Non-Oxide Ceramics Market Drivers

Increase in Usage of Semiconductors

Silicon carbide is widely used as a semiconductor due to its electrical properties like high thermal shock resistance, ability to work at high temperature, and super chemical inertness. Hence, due to such unique properties of silicon carbide based semi-conductor, it is majorly used in sectors like automotive for charging batteries of e-vehicles. The increase in usage of semi-conductor in such industrial sector has led to increase in their demand globally. For instance, as per Semi-Conductor Industry Association the global sale of the semiconductor industry in 2020 stood at US$ 439 billion dollars showing a 6.5% increase as compared to the 2019 figure i.e., US$ 412.3 billion. The increase in sales volume of semi-conductors will lead to more usage of non-oxide ceramics like silicon carbide, which will boost the growth of global non-oxide ceramics industry. 

Increase in Steel Production

Silicon carbide dissolved in basic oxygen furnace is used as a fuel in making steel. Also, its other benefits are it is cheaper than combination of ferrosilicon & carbon, produces cleaner steel, and has lower emissions due to low levels of trace elements. The high demand of steel from automotive and construction sector has led to increase in its production volume. For instance, as per the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s steel output increased by 5.2% to a record 1.053 billion tons on account of high demand from the construction and manufacturing sectors. Also, as per the data of the government of India, crude steel production stood at 77.74 million tons for January-August 2021, showing an increase of 25.6% compared to 2020 same period. Such increase in production output of steel on account of high demand from such manufacturing sectors will drive more usage of non-oxide ceramics. This will positively impact the growth of global non-oxide ceramics industry.

Global Non-Oxide Ceramics Market Challenges

High Manufacturing Cost

The production process of non-oxide ceramics is very expensive, as in order to eliminate oxygen from cure environment of non-oxides, a longer heat treatment is required. Hence, for longer heat treatment, high temperature furnace is used which has higher cost compared to low temperature furnace. Moreover, longer heat treatment leads to more cycle time of high temperature furnace which increases its maintenance cost also. The high cost of such raw material used in production of non-oxide ceramics increases the overall manufacturing cost. Hence, this can have negative impact on the growth of global non-oxide ceramics industry.

Global Non-Oxide Ceramics Industry Outlook

The companies to develop a strong regional presence and strengthen their market position, continuously engage in mergers and acquisitions. In global non-oxide ceramics market report, the global non-oxide ceramics top 10 companies are:

1. Toray Industries Inc.
2. Mino Ceramic Co Ltd
3. Mcdanel Advanced Ceramic Technologies LLC
4. Japan Fine Ceramics
5. Centorr Vacuum Industries
6. Hitech Ceramics
7. Rauschert GmBH
8. Azo Materials
9. Diamorph
10. Xiamen Innovacera Advanced Material

Recent Developments

• In 2021, Victoria PLC, the international designers, manufacturers and distributors of innovative flooring acquired Graniser, a mid-market manufacturer and exporter of ceramic tiles based in Izmir, Turkey. 
• In 2020, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation launched a new series of silicon-carbide metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors. This new series will help in reducing power consumption and physical size of power supply systems such as on electric vehicle onboard charges and photovoltaic power systems 
• In 2019, Japanese company Kyocera took over the high-performance ceramics pision of Mannheim-based Friatec GmbH, and such acquisition increased product portfolio of fine ceramic components of Kyocera in Europe

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