The global market for nanotubes was valued at $1,250.00 million in 2015 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.9% during the forecast period 2016-2025. According to a recent report by Research and Markets, “Global Carbon Nanotubes Market – Segmented by Type, Application and Geography – Trends and Forecasts (2016 – 2025)”, the single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWTs) are expected to reach 689.35 million by 2018 with a CAGR of 22.5%.
Carbon nanotubes have high thermal conductivity, elasticity, tensile strength, absorbency, etc. as a result of which they have been widely used in the fields of nanotechnology, semiconductors, optics, etc. At present the carbon nanotubes account for about 28% market share of the total nanomaterial market. The production capacity of the carbon nanotubes is highest in the Asia-pacific region, followed by the North America and Europe. This domination of the Asia-pacific region is expected to continue as the demand for the carbon nanotubes is growing in the Asia-pacific region.
The global Carbon Nanotubes market is dominated by a few large suppliers/producers operating in multiple industry segments. The number of companies producing carbon nanotubes is expected to double in the next five years. Moreover, there is a lot of research being done regarding these nanotubes to enhance its properties. The number of publications being published about them has increased a lot over the last decade.
Asia-Pacific has the largest installed capacity of carbon nanotubes, mainly due to the significant presence of the electrical & electronics market in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and Singapore. Moreover, due to the industrialization and urbanization in the developing countries, the demand for the electronic products is increasing resulting in increasing usage of the carbon nanotubes. Hence a number of developing nations notably China and India, which due to their higher population levels, will potentially be large and profitable markets for the carbon nanotubes.
The growth of this market is mainly influenced by the development of the synthesis methods, advancement in the carbon nanotubes to enhance its properties and growing applications. The increasing demand for electronic & storage devices and in the energy sector, where carbon nanotubes find extensive applications, will drive the demand for the carbon nanotubes. The key challenge in this market is the high cost of production and purity of the carbon nanotubes. There is a baseline for the production of carbon nanotubes based on safety regulations, hence the productivity is less. Another challenge is with the difficulty in the acquirement of patents in nanotechnology.
Some of the key vendors of carbon nanotubes are CNano technology, Nanocyl, Covestro, Showa Denko, Arkema, carbon solutions, carbon NT&F, catalyx nanotech and CNT.