Offer of low-cost, yet powerful materials to open up growth opportunities among technology-shy end users, finds Frost & Sullivan’s TechVision team
The escalating need for materials with tunable properties and high functionality is driving R&D in chemicals and advanced materials, especially in the industries of healthcare, infrastructure, automotive, and oil and gas. Technology developers’ keenness to enhance the user-friendliness of products, as well as their weight, energy efficiency, multi-functionality, strength and cost, is attracting a large number of stakeholders to the chemical and advanced materials space. Acknowledging the changing demands of end users, manufacturers are also employing sophisticated, energy-efficient production processes to roll out chemicals and materials that are high performing but still have low volatile organic compound (VOC) content.
Top Technologies in Chemicals and Advanced Materials, 2017 is part of Frost & Sullivan’s TechVision (Chemicals & Advanced Materials) Growth Partnership Subscription. The study offers an overview of the top 10 materials, chemicals and coatings technologies that will have the highest impact across industries and applications in 2017. Each technology is analyzed in terms of its market potential, application segmentation and innovation, as well as intellectual property landscape. It also highlights funding deals, innovation ecosystem, and the technology development and adoption scenario.
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“The automotive and transportation sector is expected to be the dominant end user in the advanced high strength, lightweight materialsdue to its high production volumes,” noted Frost & Sullivan TechVision Senior Research Analyst Sanchari Chatterjee Maity. “Need for high performance and continued emphasis on emissions, esp. in the automotive and transportation industry is further accelerating the shift toward better-performingalternatives that also have low weight-to-volume ratio.”
While there is a steady stream of technology developments and sustained innovations, chemicals and materials manufacturers are challenged to set their products apart in the highly competitive market. Furthermore, they are battling the deep set technology shyness towards adoption of new materials of end users in a number of industries.
“Metal alloys, reinforced polymers and composites that can substitute steel are facing hurdles to large-scale adoption as steel is still perceived as a stronger material, despite its tendency to corrode. Self-healing materials are also gaining with automotive, construction, oil & gas and coating industries set to be among the early adopters,” noted Maity.
To combat end users’ apprehensions about adopting new materials and chemicals, technology stakeholders are focusing on improving material processing techniques and identifying new low-cost raw materials. There have been a slew of material and coating introductions globally, but the regions with the most R&D activity are:
- North America: Commercialization and demand for the majority of the technologies are highest in North America. The rising demand, especially in the automotive, aerospace, construction, oil and gas, and energy sectors, encourages the construction of large manufacturing facilities to produce these materials.
- Europe: The UK, Switzerland and Germany are looking to develop innovative material technologies across key applications. The European Union plays a key role in funding basic-stage R&D of such materials. Stringent environmental regulations create high demand for novel materials and coatings solutions.
- Asia-Pacific: Intense R&D activities, growing consumer power and better awareness of energy conservation make it the fastest-growing market. Japan, China, Korea and India are the key players in chemicals and materials technology development and penetration.
About TechVision
Frost & Sullivan’s global TechVision practice is focused on innovation, disruption and convergence, and provides a variety of technology-based alerts, newsletters and research services as well as growth consulting services. Its premier offering, the TechVision program, identifies and evaluates the most valuable emerging and disruptive technologies enabling products with near-term potential. A unique feature of the TechVision program is an annual selection of 50 technologies that can generate convergence scenarios, possibly disrupt the innovation landscape, and drive transformational growth. View a summary of our TechVision program by clicking on the following link: http://ifrost.frost.com/TechVision_Demo.
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Top Technologies in Chemicals and Advanced Materials, 2017
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