Carbon Thermoplastic (CFRTP) Composites Market Analysis By Raw Material (PAN, Pitch), By Application (Automotive, Aerospace & Defense, Wind Turbines, Sport, Construction, Marine), And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composite market size was valued at USD 2.75 billion in 2015 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 10.8% from 2016 to 2025. Carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite is being popular in the automotive and aerospace sector owing to its peculiar properties such as lower weight, better fire, smoke & toxicity (FST), and strong impact strength.

Increasing requirements for lightweight materials from other end-use industries such as wind turbines, construction, and marine are also expected to boost the product market. The fuel efficiency of any vehicle is largely dependent on its kerb weight.

Carbon Thermoplastic composite market by region, 2014 - 2025 (USD Million)

Moreover, the aircraft makers have also been focusing on reducing the overall weight of the aircraft to increase the efficiency of the product. The use of carbon thermoplastic composites helps in drastically lower the overall weight. Rising demand for CFRTP as an alternative to metals such as steel and aluminum is expected to stimulate growth in other applications.

Every application requires different types or grades of CFRTP; this grade mainly depends on the raw materials used during the manufacturing process. The in-house production of the raw materials thus also gives an additional competitive advantage to the key players in the market. Moreover, the efforts taken by the companies to lower down the production cost are likely to create new opportunities for them in the coming years.

Furthermore, the carbon reinforced thermoplastics is expected to attain popularity over thermosetting resin owing to its enhanced properties. Traditional thermosetting resins harden after reheating and consumes a lot of time to mold it into the desired shape and structure. Thereby it is not considered as a suitable material for large-scale productions such as automobiles.

Raw Material Insights

The primary ingredients in CFRTP manufacturing are polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and petroleum pitch. The superior properties of PAN over its counterpart petroleum pitch are expected to drive the PAN market for the global CFRTP market.

The PAN-based CFRTP market in North America is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 12% creating a demand of over 18,000 tons by 2025. Moreover, the currently existing large capacities of PAN based CFRTP is projected to completely substitute the pitch-based product, thereby emerging as the biggest raw material segment for producing CFRTP.

Application Insights

Automobile segment is the fastest growing application segment, with an estimated CAGR around 14% over the forecast period. Strict government rules for vehicular emissions and increasing fuel efficiency are expected to force the automobile manufacturers to take essential steps for overall motor weight reduction.

As CFRTP is known to lower the vehicle weight, this is projected to boost the overall product market. The aerospace segment held the largest share of CFRTP market on account of its growing requirement for lightweight materials. Extensive growth in the global aviation sector is further expected to splurge the demand for carbon thermoplastic composites in the aerospace industry.

U.S. CFRTP composite market volume share by application, 2015 (%)

Carbon thermoplastics exhibit properties such as high degree of recyclability and weldability, which makes the product suitable for manufacturing of blades for wind turbines in an economical manner. Moreover, flexibility, corrosion resistance, and durability offered by the products make it a good option over metals in various other application segments such as construction and marine.

Regional Insights

North America is expected to be the largest market for the product accounting for over 35% of the market demand owing to the concentration of major aircraft makers such as Boeing and key defense instruments manufacturers in the region.

Europe is projected to be the fastest-growing market, generating a revenue of over USD 3.0 Million by 2025. The presence of stringent laws and regulations regarding vehicular emissions and dedicated attempts made by the European automotive manufacturers in this regard are further expected to foster this regional growth.

The presence of key aircraft manufacturers and automobile giants such as Mercedes, Volkswagen, BMW, Ferrari, and Audi, etc., who emphasize on manufacturing high performance cars with reduced weight, will be responsible for the regional growth.

Competitive Insights

Key players include Toray Industries, Inc., SGL Group, Hexcel Corporation, Teijin Limited, Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd., BASF SE, etc. Agreements, partnerships, supply contracts, alliances, joint ventures, and collaborations are the main strategies adopted by the key players to achieve growth in the CFRTP market in the automotive sector.

The market is defined by the presence of few participants with the major ones having high-level of value chain integration. The companies have consolidated their operations to produce the raw materials and also manufacture the product, thus reducing the overall product price.

Report Scope

Segments covered in the report

This report forecasts volume & revenue growth and provides an analysis on the latest trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this report, Grand View Research has segmented Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites Market on the basis of raw material and application:

• Raw Material Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • PAN

  • Pitch

• Application Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Automotive

  • Aerospace & Defense

  • Wind Turbines

  • Sports equipment

  • Construction

  • Marine

  • Others