Bio-Based Polycarbonate Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 To 2025

Growing thermoplastics industrial applications and awareness about the impact of petrochemical disposals on the environment are expected to drive global bio-based polycarbonate market growth over the next few years. Surging crude oil and petrochemical prices during the beginning of this decade led companies to take R&D initiatives for developing sustainable drop-in substitutes for petrochemical counterparts. Many chemical companies have developed bio-based polycarbonate (PC), which has a similar molecular structure with enhanced durability. Bio-based PC is poised to act as a drop-in substitute to a synthetic counterpart in several end-use industries such as automotive, building & construction, aircraft components, electrical & electronics, optics, security components, and medical. High durability and impact resistance of bio-based polycarbonate is potentially expected to take over some market share of acrylics and PMMA in key end-use industries such as building & construction and medical. Low scratch-resistant property restricts application in some industries. High manufacturing cost and complex synthesis process is anticipated to negatively impact bio-based polycarbonate market growth. Decreasing raw material availability owing to increasing application scope in manufacturing various bio-polymers and domestic consumption in the food industry is also estimated to hinder bio-PC market growth. Increasing Bio-PC application scope in glass and automotive components owing to protection from UV light is anticipated to bolster market growth in the foreseeable future.

Asia Pacific was the largest bio-based polycarbonate market in 2013 and is expected to witness significant growth in bio-PC demand owing to increasing bio-based thermoplastics demand in electronics and automotive applications. Volatile petrochemical prices and tight supply led market participants to switch to bio-based source utilization. Growing electronic gadgets consumption coupled with surging demand for sustainable finished products demand in this region is expected to fuel the bio polycarbonate market expansion. Europe was another major bio-based polycarbonate regional market on account of stringent regulations related to the use and disposal of petrochemicals. European industries have been initiating bio-based product usage to reduce carbon footprint and dependence on petrochemicals. Rapid industrialization and adoption of bio-polymers in emerging economies such as Brazil, China, India, and Malaysia are expected to drive bio-based polycarbonate market growth in forthcoming years. Technological advancement and R&D to reduce manufacturing cost and end-use specific product development may accelerate bio-PC commercialization.

The global bio-based polycarbonate market is currently in the development phase and is hence limited to a few market players. High barriers to entry owing to extreme manufacturing cost and complex manufacturing process may restrict new players to enter the existing competition. Currently, the majority of market share is distributed among Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Company and Teijin Limited.