Smart Materials Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

Smart Materials Market Overview

The Smart Materials market size is forecast to reach US$110.7 billion by 2027 after growing at a CAGR of 12.8% during 2022-2027. Smart materials have inherent and extrinsic qualities that are adaptable and clever in operation. Technological advancements in material science have enabled the growth of this market for the production of smart materials like photovoltaic-integrated electrochromic devices for smart applications, having specific required purposes that were earlier hard to manufacture using conventional materials like polymers, plastics, metals, glass, and ceramics. Smart materials are more often being utilized as dielectric elastomers in microelectronic component energy supply systems. Smart materials hold some special properties that allow them to get back to their original state after removal of the external stimuli, like electric and magnetic fields, temperature, pressure, mechanical stress, hydrostatic pressure, and others. Piezoelectric materials (PZT), shape memory alloy materials (SMA), electrostrictive materials (PMN), magnetostrictive materials, and phase change materials have gained wide industrial acceptance in recent times. Moreover, ferromagnetic shape memory alloys, conductive polymers, nanotube actuators, and electroactive polymers are a couple of emerging smart materials used within the market, with strong application potential. Increasing use of smart transducers, actuators, sensors, and structural materials, is expected to drive the demand of the smart materials market during the forecast period. 

COVID-19 Impact

Currently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the core end-use industries such as aerospace, automotive, industrial, electrical, and electronics industries were highly impacted. Due to social distancing policy, most of the manufacturing plants of aircraft and automobiles were shut down, which declined the regular production of commercial aircraft and vehicles. With aerospace and defense being the major end-use industry, according to the Welsh Government services and information, the global demand for production of short-haul sized aircraft is most probably going to drop by 15% and by 30 - 65% for long haul sized craft, by the end of 2025, as an extended-term impact of the covid-19. Also, due to supply chain disruptions like delay in reaching of raw materials or non-arrival, disrupted financial flows, and rising absenteeism among production line staff and employees, OEMs have been forced to function at zero or partial capacity, resulting in lower demand and consumption for Smart Materials in 2020. 

Report Coverage

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

By Product Type: Piezoelectric Materials (PZT), Shape Memory Alloy Materials (SMA), Electrostrictive Materials (PMN), Magnetostrictive Materials (Terfenol-D), Electrochromic Materials, Phase Change Materials, Others.
By Application: Transducers, Actuators and Motors, Sensors, Structural and Building Materials, Smart Textile, Packaging, and Others.
By End-Use Industry: Industrial, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive, Electrical and Electronics, Healthcare, Food and Beverages, and Others.
By Geography: North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Russia, Belgium, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Rest of South America), Rest of the World (the Middle East, and Africa). 

Key Takeaways

• North America was the leading region for the smart materials market, thanks to the rising demand for smart actuators and motors in end-use industries like automotive, electrical and electronics, and aerospace.
  
• Europe accounted for the second-largest share of the market, followed by the Asia Pacific, and is anticipated to be the fastest-growing region of the market during the forecast period.
  
• Growing consumption of piezoelectric devices in numerous end-use industries has accelerated the demand in the smart materials market, thereby being the most important shareholder within the product type segment.
  
• The dominance of the piezoelectric product segment care is often primarily attributed to the rising demand in applications such as hydrophones, sonar, speakers, buzzers, gas igniters, and sporting equipment.
  
• The use of smart materials within the aerospace and defense segment has increased and is predicted to grow at a rapid rate as compared to other industries during the forecast period.

Figure: North America Smart Materials Market Revenue, 2021-2027 (US$ Billion) 

Smart Materials Market Segment Analysis – By Product Type

The Piezoelectric Materials (PZT) segment held the largest share of 36% in the Smart Materials market in 2021. Piezoelectric smart materials have the ability to transduce the mechanical pressure acting on them into the electrical signals called the direct piezoelectric effect, and electrical signals to mechanical signals called the converse piezoelectric effect. For the material to possess piezoelectricity, it should have a lack of center of symmetry and also depends on its crystal lattice structure. Piezoelectric smart materials are applied in a wide range of applications in the electrical and electronics industry which includes transducers, actuators, motors, and sensors. Piezoelectric smart materials are also utilized as electroactive scaffolds for tissue repair and regeneration in tissue engineering. They have the capacity to deliver variable electrical stimuli without an external power source involved. Globally increasing research and development investments by research universities & companies for the development of advanced technology for piezoelectric smart materials in aerospace and defense applications, electrical, and other major industries, are driving the market growth. Additionally, the rise in demand for piezoelectric smart sensors for fluid measurements like compositions, density, viscosity, and impact force is expected to bring new opportunities and demand during the forecast period for the smart materials market. As a result, the demand for piezoelectric smart materials can be seen and will increase significantly, which contributes to increased business growth. 

Smart Materials Market Segment Analysis – By Application

The sensors segment held the largest share of 34% in the Smart Materials market in 2021. A piezoelectric sensor is a smart device that helps to convert changes in strain, pressure, acceleration, temperature, or force into an electric charge using the piezoelectric effect. These sensors offer a variety of advantages like good frequency response, availability in the desired shape, negligible phase shift, and is of small size. The industrial segment employs piezoelectric sensors for a number of uses such as pressure sensors and sonar equipment. Moreover, the increasing use of piezoelectric sensors in industries like aerospace and defense, automotive, healthcare for medical applications, as pressure sensors in the touchpads of mobile phones, and as tilt sensors in electrical and electronic devices, is expected to accelerate the global smart materials market. Furthermore, the actuators segment is projected to be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period of the global smart materials market, as they are highly employed in the aerospace and defense industry. Hence, a positive growth curve for the smart materials market in various applications is expected during the forecast period. 

Smart Materials Market Segment Analysis – By End Use Industry

The Aerospace and Defense segment held the largest share of 44% in the Smart Materials market in 2021. The increasing aircraft fleet and the rising defense expenditure have increased the production of aircraft across the world, creating immense demand for smart materials, as it helps in maintaining and guiding the airflow across the aircraft wings and while take-off and landing. Also, these smart materials are applied to solve some common complications associated with aircraft engine vibration, flow separation due to turbulence, ice formation on wings, and high cabin noise levels. Every year, countries allocate a specific amount of budget for their defense sector, especially in developed and developing countries like the United States, China, and India, the governments have been increasing the national defense budget regularly, which is predicted to boost the smart materials market. These smart materials are widely used as nanorobots, sensors, combat suits, and others in the military and defense sectors extensively. For instance, China’s military spending is increasing every year, with around a 25% rise in almost every following year over the past two decades, which was around USD 10 billion in 1999 and has increased to over USD 250 billion in 2020. Furthermore, due to the covid impact, there was a temporary dip in the revenue graph of Boeing, a leading manufacturer of aircraft and defense crafts in the world, which had a revenue of USD 58.16 billion in the year 2020, which has comparatively fallen from 2019 revenue of USD 76.56 billion. Overall, the market for smart materials in the aerospace and defense industry is expected to recover gradually through the forecast period and grow consistently. 

Smart Materials Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

North America region held the largest share in the Smart Materials market in 2021 up to 40%, owing to the increasing demand from the aerospace and defense industry, which has increased at a rapid rate, due to the rise in the exports and consumer base of the region. The United States accounts for the most important manufacturers of the aerospace and defense industry in the world. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), “the entire commercial aircraft fleet is predicted to reach 8,270 by 2037, due to the expansion in air cargo.” Also, the US mainliner carrier fleet is predicted to grow at a rate of 54 aircraft per annum, thanks to the prevailing fleet getting older. According to the International trade association, “Canada ranks first in civil flight simulation, third in civil engine production, and fourth in civil aircraft production”. It is the sole nationally ranked within the top five of all the key categories. The aerospace industry led the Canadian manufacturing sector in innovation-related investment such as R&D activities with an expenditure of over USD 1.4 billion annually (nearly a quarter of all manufacturing R&D). Hence, all the aforementioned factors driving the aerospace and defense segment are expected to cause a significant impact on the demand for smart materials market within the region over the forecast period.

Secondly, Asia Pacific is predicted to be the fastest-growing region over the forecast period. Europe is the second major exporting region for Smart Materials due to its capacity. Hence, with all such applications and robust demand within all the regions, the Smart Materials market is predicted to witness healthy growth globally during the forecast period.

Smart Materials Market Drivers

Increasing demand for smart materials by a growing global economy

The smart materials market is growing and thanks to the rapidly rising demand in various applications like the industrial, automotive, and aerospace industries. Also, the rapid growth within automotive and automobile production on account of the rapidly growing demand from emerging economies is additionally highly impacting the expansion of smart materials. In spite of the coronavirus crisis, between march and may 2020, global automotive sales contracted by around 15% globally. But within a few months, the market recovered by 5% showing a positive sign of growth. Thus, increasing automation production will require more automotive smart materials, which will act as a driver for the smart materials market. Additionally, the rising importance of air cargo delivery alongside the growing number of air passengers is also anticipated to flourish the demand of the smart materials market due to the above-mentioned reasons and is additionally projected to grow substantially during the forecast period. 

Demand from the Healthcare industry

Smart materials are consistently gaining attention in the healthcare industry owing to their benefits and properties. These materials are utilized in biomedical devices mainly for their biocompatibility and biodegradability. The increasing consumption of smart materials like sensors and actuators to develop smart medical devices and supply a greater understanding of piezoelectricity within the medical industry is driving the expansion of the market. Also, the rising investments in medical devices in the healthcare sector are another major factor driving the growth of the market. For instance, according to the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), in May 2020, the government of India announced incentivization plans of at least USD 4.9 billion over a five-year period to further facilitate investments in manufacturing medical devices, which will involve the use of smart materials. Thus, all the aforementioned factors are therefore expected to drive the smart materials market growth in the healthcare industry during the forecast period. 

Smart Materials Market Challenges

High cost of smart materials

Smart materials are very efficient materials and have high performance, however, it comes with high costs associated with the high level of investments made in the research and development of the product. End-use industries usually prefer and are searching for products that have greater efficiency with lower costs. Due to which, the industrial sector is cost-intensive and manufacturers are still searching for both effective and low-cost alternatives of smart materials. Additionally, in the automotive industry, active smart materials are gaining attention, but the growth might get hampered due to the high costs involved and would become a barrier to penetrate into the majority class of middle-stream background and would be seen upon as a futile investment, therefore, limiting the market only to high-end users. Hence, the high cost of smart materials will remain a restraint for the smart materials market growth during the forecast period.

Smart Materials Industry Outlook

Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in this market. Smart Materials top 10 companies include: 

Recent Developments

In February 2021, CTS Corporation, along with Entekno Materials of Turkey, announced that they have secured funding from Eurostars to develop environmentally-friendly lead-free piezoelectric ceramic smart material. This material is developed in consideration to replace lead-based materials.

In April 2021, Evonik launched a new product line of photopolymers for 3D printing, where the product incorporates color phase change materials. This new line of photopolymers is ready-to-use, high-performance formulations, which is bundling Evonik’s expertise in 3D printing using smart materials and its innovation growth field.

In February 2020, Hexagon announced the launch of a new smart material, where its release of Intergraph Smart® Materials 10 marked a major milestone in its product’s history. This latest update to Hexagon’s market-leading materials and contract management system marks the largest update in Smart Materials history. 

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