Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market Overview

Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market size is estimated to reach US$1.5 billion by 2027 after growing at a CAGR of 4.5% during 2022-2027. Polyvinyl butyral (PVB) is a resin with transparent, flexible and tough thermoplastic which is generally used for applications that require strong binding, adhesives, flexibility, optical clarity and toughness. Polyvinyl butyral is prepared from polyvinyl alcohol with a reaction of butyraldehyde. The major application of PVB is laminated glass for windshields. This laminated glass, which is commonly used in automotive and architectural fields, contains a protective layer between two panels of glass which is usually made up of polyvinyl butyral. The PVB membrane absorbs noise and has sound insulating properties which prevents sounds passing through the other side of the glass. PVB is also used heavily in solar modules in photovoltaic thin films. The photovoltaic circuit is made on a sheet of glass using thin film deposition. Polyvinyl butyral and a second sheet of glass (also known as back glass) are then directly placed on the circuit.

COVID-19 Impact

COVID-19 is an unmatched global health crisis that has affected almost every industry and its long tern effects are estimated to impact the industry growth in the forecast period as well. The consumer demand has also reduced eventually as inpiduals are eager to cut all the non-essential expenses from their respective budgets. These changes have affected the growth of polyvinyl butyral films and sheets market over the forecast timeline. During the pandemic situation, the automotive industries were suspended temporarily, due to which the demand of PVB material for automotive windshield was reduced by huge amount. Also, according to International Organization of Motor Vehicle (OICA), the global vehicle production showed 16% decline in 2020, to less than 78 million vehicles, which is equivalent sales levels of 2010. Moreover, the construction projects were also put on hold which negatively impacted the demand of PVB, which is used in the fabrication of laminated glass for windows. Due to this global outrage, the demand and consumption of PVB was affected in many industries.

Report Coverage

The report: “Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market Report – Forecast (2022-2027)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the global polyvinyl butyral films and sheets industry.

Key Takeaways

• Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the market and is likely to witness the highest CAGR in the course of the forecast period due to the increased use in construction and automotive industries.
• Polyvinyl butyral (PVB) film is now widely used in automotive industry and architectures serving as the protective interlayer in windshields and glasses.
•  Polyvinyl butyral are mainly used as laminated glass products for construction, automotive and photovoltaic industries. 

Figure: Asia Pacific Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market Revenue, 2021-2027 (US$ Billion)

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Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market Segment Analysis – By Application

Laminated glass held the largest share in Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market in 2021 and is expected to grow with a CAGR of 4.1% during the forecast period. These laminated glasses are made by pasting PVB resin glue film between two or more pieces of glass sheet, heating it then pressing and bonding them together to create flat or curved compound glass material. Alternatively, transparent interlayers can also be used in laminated glass to obtain special properties like solar control, fire protection and thermal insulation. Recent development includes high-tech ionoplastic interlayers which are lighter and stronger than conventional PVB Film laminated glass and can also survive storms and powerful blasts. These ionoplastic glasses mixed with polycarbonate interlayers can also be used as bulletproof glasses. In Europe and America, laminated PVB glasses are used in most of the buildings to avoid accidents due to its properties like anti-break-in and anti-shocking. Due to so many advantages, PVB laminated glasses are used in many industries including construction and electrical industries.

Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market Segment Analysis – By End-Use Industry

The automotive industry held the largest share in Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market and it is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period. PVBs are fundamentally utilized in overlaid wellbeing glass for car windshields. PVB forestalls the breaking of glass. Windshields in vehicles can be hazardous during a mishap. To guarantee greatest security of the driver and travellers, every windshield is covered with wellbeing PVB films. The PVB film layer in the middle of twin glass layers gives an elevated degree of security. The interest for PVB as an interlayer in the sandwich overlaid glass has been developing essentially, acceptable from the wellbeing and security, it conveys in car windshields. Also, acoustic protection and UV security are the significant elements of PVB that improve their use in the automobile industry. The PVB films are also used in production of rear and front view mirrors, windows and dashboard. Moreover major companies like BMW, Audi and Daimler are rapidly including PVB resins in their vehicles for sunroof, rear view mirror, windshield and windows. PVB products in automobile manufacturers are expected to provide profitable opportunities for market growth.

Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

The Asia Pacific is the leading region accounted for the largest share in the Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market in 2021 and held nearly 35% of market share. With global companies seeking to de-risk their supply chains, which are dependent on China, the chemical sector in India has the opportunity for a significant growth in this sector. According to Cefic Chemdata International, the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) accounted for 50.2% of global chemical sales in 2020. China’s share of world chemicals market sales in 2020 grew to 44.6%, up from 25.8% reported in 2010. With US$1,682 billion in 2020, China is the largest chemicals producer in the world, contributing 44.6% of global chemical sales in 2020. For instance, according to World Bank Group, Asia Pacific is accounted for around 61% of its population living in urban communities in 2020. New Zealand and Australia registered over 86% of its population in metropolitan regions during that year. Fast urbanization and development in the quantity of vehicles in Asia Pacific will give tremendous open door to the business in the coming years.

Polyvinyl Butyral Market Drivers

Demand for Safety Glass in Automotive Industries

Polyvinyl butyral is a clear, colourless thermoplastic produced by condensation reaction of polyvinyl alcohol and butyraldehyde. It is known for its properties like flexibility, film-forming, good adhesion and good UV resistance. One of the major uses of PVB films is in a safety glass in automotive industries. Due to its good adhesion to glass, many slivers of fractured glass will stick to the surface of the PVB film which will prevent from personal injury by sharp and large pieces. This laminated glass also provides improved sound barrier, almost 99% absorption of UV rays and good impact resistance. As the PVB films are great for protecting the interior of house from UV rays, these films are also widely used in cars for sun roof, mirrors and many accessories. The global polyvinyl butyral films and sheets (PVB) market is expected to rise owing to an increase in vehicle manufacturing. According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), in January 2022, total production of passenger vehicles, three-wheelers, two-wheelers and quadricycles reached 1,860,809 units and rising middle class income and a huge youth population will also result in strong demands in automotive industry. Two wheelers and passenger cars accounted for 80.8% and 12.9% market share, respectively, accounting for a combined sale of over 20.1 million vehicles in financial year 2020.

Surge in demand in Building and Construction Industries

As polyvinyl butyral is the most common interlayer used in laminated glass, one of the largest used of these laminated glass are in buildings and windows. Due to its different properties available for laminated glass like ordinary glass, tempered glass, heat-absorbing glass, coloured glass or heat-reflecting glass, it is gaining a lot of popularity among many industries. In Europe and America, laminated glasses are mostly used in buildings to avoid hazardous accidents because of its anti-shocking and anti-breaking properties. The glue film in the middle is also able to resist consecutive striking by weapons like hammer and wood cutting blades. These are also able to resist bullet to some extent, thus are used for high security. Although other synthetic materials can also be used like resins or gels, but PVB is the most often used for laminated glass due to its high transparency, its remarkable adhesive properties, high compatibility with glass and its viscoelastic properties guarantee high deformability before failure. According to India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), India is expected to become the world’s third largest construction market by 2022. India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) also stated that, Indian real estate attracted US$5 billion institutional investments in 2020, equivalent to 93% of transactions recorded in the year 2021.

Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market Challenges

Sensitive to Hydrolysis and difficult to Recycle

One of the biggest drawbacks of using PVB is that it is very sensitive to hydrolysis because of high water uptake. Due to this it is not used for glass/ back-sheet based crystalline Si solar modules. It was used in glass-glass modules and thin film-based solar modules. It is also feared that if both glass panels in a laminated glass windshield breaks, then the PVB film does not remain rigid and the panel will flip forward. Therefore, to avoid such circumstances, SentryGlass ionomer is used. Even if both the side panels break, SGP will still remain intact. The increasing cost of polymer materials and the environmental pollution caused by their waste make the use of recycled materials more important. Large amounts of PVB are still buried in landfills due to lack of recycling tips and techniques and difficulty in achieving uniform control on the properties of the recycled polymer. The researchers have taken initiatives to find out some ways for easy recycling methods. Thus, the environmental pollution caused by their waste is still a hindrance in the growth of polyvinyl butyral.

Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Industry Outlook

Polyvinyl Butyral Films & Sheets Market top 10 companies include:

1. Eastman Chemical Company 
2. Kuraray Co., Ltd.
3. Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd.
4. Chang Chun Petrochemical Co. Ltd.
5. Kingboard Holdings Ltd.
6. Huakai Plastic (Chongqing) Co. Ltd.
7. Everlam
8. DuLite PVB Film
9. Tiantai Kanglai Industrial Co., Ltd.
10. Anhui Wanwei Group Co., Ltd.

Recent Developments

• In March 2022, SEKISUI, with continuous efforts to provide new values on the PVB Interlayer Films for laminated glass has rebranded its High-Performance Plastics Company’s Interlayer Film business unit to reflect the intention to “contribute to society and the environment through its products, and to help build a better future” using its advanced technical expertise, innovation, and valuing a cooperative relationship with its customers
• In August 2021, Everlam introduced PVB interlayer which passed all the requirements for high-velocity hurricane zone applications.
• In January 2021, Everlam expertise in PVB film becomes an active member of Sunovate to jointly develop a technology in laminated glass that will create an innovative smart glazing that autonomously blocks solar heat in summer and uses it for added warmth in winter.

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