Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product (Unfilled, Carbon Filled, Glass Filled), By Application (Medical, Automotive, Industrial), And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2026

Industry Insights

The global Polyether Ether Ketone market size was estimated at USD 731.8 million in 2019 and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% from 2020 to 2026. Growing environmental concerns including huge carbon emissions have prompted the need for minimal fuel consumption. This burning issue has forced automobile manufacturers to focus on increasing fuel efficiency by reducing overall automobile weights. One way to reduce automobile weight is to replace metals being used in vehicles, by efficient and environment-friendly alternative. Therefore, PEEK has emerged as a potential alternative to metals in the automobile industry.

Excellent characteristics are widening the application scope of PEEK and increasing product lines in transportation, semiconductors, industrial, food, and clinical areas. Over the forecast period, PEEK is anticipated to enter into the diverse market and explore opportunities in untapped markets on account of its environment-friendly characteristics including lower harmful emissions.

The overall market is also anticipated to experience a wide range of applications in the medical industry over the forecast period. Currently, it is used for spinal surgery purposes and is expected to be used for more clinical applications and commercial medical products.

There is a need for research and development in the medical industry to explore untapped clinical applications. On account of lack of long-term clinical data, currently, PEEK product has a limited application in the field, but it is expected to boost over the forecast period on owing to its huge potential as a replacement.

Pricing exists as a major restraint for the Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) market. It is one of the most expensive products in the polymer family. The high cost is anticipated to negatively impact the global market over the forecast period.

Polyether Ether Ketone Market Trends 

An increase in the replacement of metals with PEEK has been a major driving factor for the PEEK market. Metals that PEEK is widely replacing include aluminum, carbon steel, bronze, stainless steel, brass, titanium, and magnesium. Various stringent environmental regulations are forcing automotive manufacturers to improve the fuel efficiency of vehicles, reduce maintenance needs, and lower noise levels. These regulations are driving the preference for lighter vehicles as automotive light-weighting helps achieve the three aforementioned objectives. PEEK has emerged as a significant upgrade over metals in not only reducing the emission levels but also increasing fuel economy.

In comparison to metals and other polymers, PEEK offers superior performance characteristics. It is resistant to many essential chemicals used in aircraft, including jet fuel, de-icing solutions, fire-extinguishing compounds, hydraulic fluids, cleaning agents, and insecticides. Unlike metals, PEEK does not require anti-corrosion treatments. It can even perform up to a temperature of 260°C without any performance loss for 5,000 hours and more. PEEK results in the lowest amount of harmful emissions and smoke among all the polymers in terms of emission rates. All these features have resulted in the emergence of PEEK as the perfect replacement for metals.

PEEK is emerging as an environment-friendly solution in various applications. Its usage leads to low carbon emissions compared to other polymers, including ABS, polyester laminate, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, and polysulphone. PEEK increases the service life of the products in which it is used by providing excellent corrosion resistance. It can also perform under high temperatures for a more extended period than other polymers. It is one of the most versatile products in terms of providing manufacturing design freedom and thus results in less dependence on labor.

In comparison to other polymers, PEEK has the lowest fire, toxic emissions, and smoke rates. PEEK-based electrical wire bundle clamps are used in hydraulic tubing and wiring to manage and control aircraft systems. Around 15,000 PEEK-based clamps are used in an aircraft, which helps reduce carbon emissions by 80 tons per year while accounting for fuel savings of USD 23,000 per year. PEEK-based clamps have widely replaced stainless steel and aluminum in this application due to the significant cumulative effect.

PEEK has also replaced electrical connectors and a number of other metal-based products in aircraft. PEEK pipes have replaced metal in many types of next-generation aircraft. These pipes are mostly used for tubing in cargo drainage systems. In comparison with 100 m metal pipes, the use of PEEK contributes to a reduction of 12 tons of carbon emissions per year. In addition, it can save up to USD 3,300 in fuel costs per aircraft.

Product Insights

Based on products, the market is segmented into unfilled, carbon filled, and glass-filled. Glass-filled PEEK is anticipated to continue to lead the market over the forecast period followed by carbon filled. Application in electronic and electric and industrial application areas is projected to drive the growth.

Carbon filled is expected to register the highest CAGR on account of its increasing application in automotive, aerospace, and medical areas. Unfilled is the purest form which is used for niche application areas in miscellaneous industries.

Application Insights

Automotive and industrial and general engineering application areas led the market in 2019. Growing packaging concerns coupled with stringent environmental regulations are expected to drive product demand from the industrial application segment over the forecast period.

On other hand, automobile manufacturers are focusing on increasing fuel efficiency by reducing automobile weight. For doing this, PEEK has emerged as the most effective and environment-friendly solution by replacing metals. Aerospace emerged as a significant application area and is expected to drive overall demand on account of its increasing demand in new-generation passenger aircraft. These passenger aircraft mainly use carbon filled PEEK. The growing demand for clinical applications is also expected to emerge as the major market driver.

Polyether ether ketone has been emerging as an efficient product for implantable devices mainly for spinal surgery and is replacing titanium which was primarily used for such purposes. Carbon filled PEEK is preferred more for such medical uses.

Regional Insights

Europe led the global market on account of the stringent regulatory framework. These strict guidelines mainly about environment and fuel consumption reduction increased the demand in the transportation sector which in turn resulted in regional dominance.

Europe dominated the polyether ether ketone market and accounted for the largest revenue share of 43.30% in 2019. In Europe, automotive, insulation, electronics & electrical, industrial, and general engineering are the major PEEK end-use industries. Coverings and insulation at high temperatures, such as insulating wires, pressure-sensitive tapes, and FPC used in electronics, automotive, and aerospace, require strong heat resistance to protect the labeled barcode and other information. The growth in these sectors contributes to the development of the PEEK market in Europe. The automotive industry is one of the significant contributors to the EU economy. The automotive industry provides 12 million jobs and contributes about 4% of the European Union GDP. The presence of many well-known globally renowned automobile companies such as Fiat, BMW, Volkswagen, etc. and well-developed infrastructure is driving the automobile and auto components industries in Europe.

Europe was followed by North America and the Asia Pacific. Emerging economies of China, India, and South Korea are also expected to significantly contribute to regional growth on account of developing industrial and consumer packaging industries.

The North America PEEK market is projected to witness strong growth due to the developed automotive, electronics, and growing aerospace industries. The presence of prominent automobile manufacturers such as Chrysler, Tesla, Ford, Cadillac, and others, in this region and government initiatives in the defense and aircraft manufacturing industries, are expected to propel the market in the years to come. Low tariffs and production costs on account of the extensive reach of the country’s free trade agreements are also expected to contribute to the market growth.

The PEEK market in the Asia Pacific is hugely untapped. Supportive government policies in the region lure the global PEEK makers to set up manufacturing and distribution facilities in this region. Economic growth in developing economies such as China and India leads to creating a wealthy urban class. This situation has boosted the sales of standard products such as electronic goods in these regions.

Also, growing GDPs coupled with government initiatives to promote FDI in emerging economies is anticipated to further boost the regional demand in near future. The Middle East and Africa are also expected to grow at a significant rate on account of its rising application in industrial and automotive purposes.

The market for PEEK in MEA has rebounded in recent years. The region is projected to continue to witness positive growth in the PEEK demand with the lifting of economic sanctions in Iran and the drive for economic diversification between the oil-exporting countries of the gulf cooperation council.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The global PEEK market is consolidated on account of the presence of a limited number of regional players. Key participants include Victrex Plc; Panjin Zhongrun High-Performance Polymers Co. Ltd; Jrlon Inc.; and Quadrant EPP Surlon India Ltd.

Increasing overall application in various areas including medical, aerospace, and automotive is a widening industry service provider business. Major service providers that use the item for injection molding and other purposes in different application areas include Prototype & Plastic Mold Co. Inc.; Parkway Products Inc.; A. Schulman AG; and Stern Industries Inc.

The market is expected to attract new players owing to widening product application scope in numerous industries including medical, aerospace, electronics, packaging, and automotive. The end-use industries are patenting their unique PEEK-based technologies to witness a competitive advantage over others.

Polyether Ether Ketone Market Report Scope

Global Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) Market Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue and volume growth at the global, regional, and country-level and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2026. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) market report based on the product, application, and region:

• Product Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2026)

  • Unfilled

  • Carbon Filled

  • Glass Filled

• Application Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2026)

  • Medical

  • Automotive

  • Aerospace

  • Industrial & General Engineering

  • Electricals & Electronics

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2026)

  • North America

    • U.S

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

    • France

    • Italy

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • South Korea

    • Taiwan

  • Central & South America

    • Brazil

  • The Middle East and Africa

    • Saudi Arabia