UV-Curable Adhesives Market - Forecast(2023 - 2028)

UV-Curable Adhesives market size is forecast to reach $1.80 billion by 2026, after growing at a CAGR of 8.2% during 2021-2026. UV- Curable Adhesives are glue curable with ultraviolet rays to provide solvent-free bonding in various applications. They are well known for their performance upon exposure to intimidating environmental conditions. Certain resin types include epoxy (EP), acrylic/polyacrylate, polyurethane (PU/PUR), silicon, and others.  They are used in applications ranging from design and production to repair, maintenance, and field service. The rising demands for UV adhesives for their characteristic properties such as fast curing rates, high bond strength, and releasing no volatile organic compounds (VOC), and flexible packaging applications are expected to drive the market through the forecast period especially in the highly populated countries in Asia-Pacific region such as India, China, Japan, and South Korea.

The outbreak of a novel coronavirus is not only a threat to public health, but also for economic and business growth Worldwide. The global UV cured adhesives market has slowed down owing to a contraction in demand from most of the industries such as electronics, optics, packaging, and others, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, it is expected that there will be an increasing focus on hygiene and sanitation for a better and safer lifestyle. Acceleration in demand from medical and consumer electronics is also likely to drive the UV curing system market gradually from 2021 to 2025. High machinery cost compared to other adhesives and unfavorable conditions arising due to the COVID-19 outbreak is expected to hinder the growth of the UV adhesives market.

The report: “UV-Curable Adhesives Market- Forecast (2021-2026)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the UV-Curable Adhesives Industry.  

By Resin type: Epoxy (EP), Acrylic/Polyacrylate, Polyurethane (PU/PUR), Silicon, and Others.

By Substrate: Ceramic, Glass, Composites, Metal, Plastics, Rubber and Elastomers, and Others.

By Applications: Packaging, Medical Devices, Printed Circuit board, LED Mounting, Aircraft Interior Applications, Printing, Coating, Thread Sealing, Stereolithography, Tamper Proofing, and Others.

By End-Use Industry: Building and Construction (Residential Construction, Commercial Construction), Energy and Power (Oil and Gas, Wind, Solar, Others), Transportation (Automotive, Aerospace, Marine, Locomotive, others), Consumer Electronics, Manufacturing, Leisure & Sports, Agriculture, Textile, Medical & Pharmaceuticals, and Others.

By Geography: By Geography: North America (USA, Canada, and Mexico), Europe (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, Netherlands, Belgium, and Rest of Europe), APAC (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia and Rest of APAC), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Rest of South America), and RoW (Middle East and Africa).

 

Acrylic held the largest share of 34% in the UV-Curable Adhesives Market in 2020. Acrylic Adhesives are hoarding significant pull in the market, owing to the contribution of superior temperature, ultraviolet, and oxidation resistance. It has the capability to stand the negative plasticizing action taking place with rubber and delivering better resistance to chemical exposure. UV acrylic adhesives are selected for their highly flexible adhesion properties that maintain reliable adhesion to substrates such as Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), Acrylic, Polypropylene (PP), and others. Acrylic and epoxy are all set to be the potential resin types by the end of the forecast period. For instance, Adhesive’s market player Techsil has introduced an orange, fluorescing UV curing product which is a transparent acrylic adhesive designed for bonding plastics. And on the other hand, Panacol has developed a range of new one-component epoxy adhesives that cure at very low temperatures, especially for electronics applications. The new initiatives and development by the adhesives industry likely to have a positive impact on the UV-Curable Adhesives Market.

Glass dominates the UV-Curable Adhesives Market growing at a CAGR of 7.3%. Glass laminates have been readily obtained by photocuring at an ambient temperature of an acrylic adhesive consisting either of a liquid resin or a solid thermoplastic polymer. The light induced polymerization process was followed by real time infrared spectroscopy. Close to 100% conversion was reached within a few seconds of exposure. Light-curing acrylates, such as the glass metal adhesive offer a multitude of possibilities in the making of glass furniture or the production of state-of-the-art glass partition systems. Due to its extraordinary long-term stability and humidity resistance, the glass-metal adhesive is particularly suitable for use in sanitary facilities. Glass industry, for instance, is a massive global industry with 1200 companies and producing a staggering 209 million tons of glass annually.

Packaging dominates the UV-Curable Adhesives Market growing at a CAGR of 7.2%. UV curable adhesive is cured through UV light exposure without any heating process that is suitable for the packaging of temperature-sensitive materials or devices. With the recent growth of E-commerce, online food, and delivery services, the requirement for packaging material especially flexible packaging has been increasing, which is expected to accelerate the demand for UV-Curable Adhesives. Also, the growing urbanization and escalating demand for compact electronic products is also predicted to improve the requirement for UV adhesive in the forecast period of 2020 to 2026. For instance, the global flexographic printing industry was expected to reach $980 billion last year, primarily driven by growth in packaging and labels. And the growth certainly enhances the demand for UV-Curable Adhesives in the forecast period.

The Medical & Pharmaceutical Industry held the largest share in the UV-Curable Adhesives Market in 2020 up to 37%. UV-curing adhesives are used in the production of medical equipment and items such as syringes, catheters, blood filters dialysis machines, hydrogels, medication patches, filters, and test strips. The implementation of UV curing in the medical vertical has improved owing to its properties such as low temperature, rapid processing, cure on demand, ease of automation, and lower energy necessities. For instance, Adhesive’s supplier Intertronics has launched Born2Bond Light Lock, a low-odor, low bloom, dual-curing cyanoacrylate adhesive (CA) which is cured within 5secs under UV light. In medical device manufacturing, it is suitable for plastic and metal bonding, including needle and hearing aid bonding. Whereas, Toyochem, Tokyo-based Toyo Ink Group, has released adhesives designed to meet the growing demand for safe, low-trauma medical devices formulated for sensitive skin individuals. Such developments display the rapid growth of UV-Curable Adhesives in the Medical sector. The medical industry without a doubt growing heavily worldwide but after the pandemic, in 2020 around 22 digital healthcare companies saw big investments with funding rounds about US$ 50 million. With the rapid investments and growth in the medical industry the demand for UV-Curable Adhesives Market to grow in the forecast period.

Asia Pacific region held the largest share in the UV-Curable Adhesives Market in 2020 up to 42% followed by North America and Europe. Asia-Pacific region is one of the foremost consumers of UV-curable adhesives in the region. The demand for UV-Curable Adhesives in growing in the automotive sector with a production rate of 44.2 million, where China is the holds the highest number of 25.7 million productions in 2020, according to Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA). Along with that strong growth of the packaging industry, increasing production and investments in the electronic industry are likely to drive the demand for UV-curable adhesives over the forecast period. For instance, China intent to deploy 626 million video cameras by 2020, widening adoption of artificial intelligence, and functionally nonexistent civil rights protections are laying the groundwork for a digital panopticon. Whereas, in India government has set a target of US$ 2.4 billion investments in electronics manufacturing. China stands to be the prominent market for UV-curable adhesives, and is also expected to perceive utmost growth during the analyzed period. The UV-curable adhesives market is growing at an incredible rate in the region and expect the escalate in the forecast period.

UV-curing adhesives are materials that are polymerized and cured in a short time by the energy radiated from ultraviolet irradiation devices. These are especially used as industrial materials for sealing, bonding, and coating. The demands for UV adhesives in the construction sector are escalation owing to their special properties like high strength, excellent stability, high cure speeds, on-demand curing, high viscosity, high transparency, and high precision. The ongoing government projects, for instance, Abu Dhabi Airport Expansion in the United Arab Emirates, 4,320 MW-Dasu Hydropower Project in Pakistan, Guided missiles in the United States and others are the development that certainly has a positive impact on the UV-Curable Adhesives market.

UV-Curable Adhesives, at an appropriate frequency and dose, can intensify the production of active substances in medicinal and traditional plants and it can also benefit to conserve the healthy growing environment. With the outburst happening in indoor and urban farming, not only are the energy savings of LEDs fascinating, but the progressions made in UV LEDs are building is likely to bring the additional benefits of ultraviolet light, particularly wavelength UV-A and UV-B, to indoor agriculture. UV LEDs have made considerable progress in recent years, not only due to advances in the manufacturing of solid-state UV devices but also as a consequence of augmented pressure to discover more environmentally friendly and energy-friendly options of producing UV light. Moreover, NASA determined that LED lights are the best single source lights for growing plants on Earth as well as in space. Such initiatives and benefits are enhancing the growth rate of the UV-Curable Adhesives market. 

UV curing adhesives can have rather a high shrinkage during curing, mainly acrylate-based formulations. This can lead to lower adhesion as well as higher stress. Post-cure may be necessary. Some epoxy-based UV adhesives can require post-curing with heat to attain their final properties. Such setbacks can have a negative impact on the growth of the UV-Curable Adhesives market. 

A major obstacle of UV curable adhesives is that a minimum of one mating part has to be transparent and not UV light blocked. And it can resist only a limited number of sterilization cycles. Therefore, currently, these adhesives are mostly used in-dispensable devices that are sterilized fewer times. Another challenge is that oxygen inhibition produces a sticky layer on the top of the surface which fallouts in incomplete curing. Atmospheric and dissolved oxygen in the resin reacts with free radicals forming less reactive peroxy radicals. This not only reduces the rate of polymerization but also can result in an incomplete cure which produces a tacky surface. Such obstacle might hinder the growth of UV-Curable Adhesives Market.

Technology launches, acquisitions and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the UV-Curable Adhesives. Major players in the UV-Curable Adhesives Market are Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Master Bond Inc, Epoxy Technology United States, Tehsil Limited, Epoxy Etc, Dymax Corporation, 3M, H.B. Fuller, DELO Industrial Adhesives, and others.