Market Trends of Global Spark Plasma Sintering Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Spark Plasma Sintering Market according to our research experts:
The Automotive Segment is Expected to Drive the Market's Growth
- Mg-matrix composites are increasingly used in automotive and aerospace applications. Magnesium (Mg) and its alloys are popular metals in automotive applications. It results mainly from the low density (1.74 g/cm3) of Mg, which aids in reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The increasing demand for weight-critical applications enforces the enhancement of the mechanical properties of these materials. One of the ways is to combine the light weight of Mg with the superior strength and stiffness of a ceramic.
- Resulting from this mix, metal-matrix composites based on Mg are increasingly more appealing as advanced materials for important engineering applications. Mg-matrix composites are generally fabricated by molding and powder metallurgy methods; one of the promising ones is spark plasma sintering (SPS). This method is desired for earlier cryomilling of powder materials to protect grains before they increase in size and for powder materials that are difficult to sinter by conventional sintering.
- The automotive industry, especially the Electric Vehicle sector, is one of the significant opportunities for studied market vendors, where SPS is used in the development of thermoelectric generators. This developing green technology converts waste heat from engine exhaust and industrial plants into electricity.
- For instance, according to the International Energy Agency's Global EV Outlook 2022 data, sales of electric vehicles (EVs) doubled in 2021 from 2020 to a new record of 6.6 million. In 2012, just 120 000 electric cars were sold worldwide. Nearly 10% of global car sales were electric in 2021, four times the market share in 2019. The global sales of electric cars are rising strongly in 2022, with 2 million sold in the first quarter, up 75% from the same period in 2021.
- Further, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), in 2021, over 2.9 million battery electric vehicles were sold in China, growing 162% compared to 2020. Moreover, about 603,000 plug-in hybrid cars were sold in China during the same year, an increase of 140% compared to 2020. The upsurge in demand for Evs is expected to offer lucrative opportunities for the studied market.
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Asia Pacific Region to Witness Significant Growth
- Asia-Pacific is one of the major adopters of the SPS systems, owing to its dominance in the global manufacturing sector, especially in the electronic and semiconductor industries.
- For instance, according to World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS), semiconductor sales in China reached USD 16.73 billion in April 2022. The April 2022 figure marks an increase from April 2021, when the sales reached USD 14.8 billion.
- With the growing compliance with international quality standards, the medical tourism industry is also growing in the Asia Pacific region. Customized bio-materials, such as artificial replacements for bones, require high durability and strength. According to the National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS), the cost of hip replacement surgery in India is lower by at least a fifth of the cost in western countries. Attracting foreign patients, the need for SPS joint replacement biomaterials is growing.
- The growing trend of digitization is also witnessed in the studied market. Market vendors are offering products with new features, such as an integrated touch screen control package and full HTML-5 interface, that enables any computer with a modern web browser to connect to the furnace and control the system securely. Vendors are also offering techniques through which data is automatically captured and provides unlimited virtual storage.
- The countries in the region are also in the top listings of the highest spenders on military and defense. For instance, in March 2022, China hiked its annual defense budget by 7.1% to USD 230 billion from USD 209 billion in 2021, three times that of India's military spending. China's hike in defense spending comes amid the People's Liberation Army's growing incidents of muscle-flexing in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. Such instances offer several opportunities for the expansion of the studied market.
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