Europe Industrial Computed Tomography Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The European Industrial Computed Tomography Market is expected to register a CAGR of less than 8% over the forecast period. The increasing use of CT scanners in end-user industries, such as electronics, automotive, aerospace, and oil & gas, is anticipated to boost the market's growth. Computed tomography (CT) is one of the important foundations of non-destructive testing in industries such as semi-electronics, aerospace, and security inspection.

Key Highlights

• The benefits of using Industrial CT Scanning include quality control for failure investigation and preproduction inspection; internal and external part inspection; quick and accurate resulting data, images that are easier to interpret than conventional radiographic data, cut costs; and improved product design.
• For inspecting and testing the internal and external structure and design of various complex parts and components without destructing or disassembling the product, industrial computed tomography (CT) systems are increasingly being used as they can help in determining the design, structure, and dimensions.
• With industrial CT scanning, manufacturers can look inside the products to identify issues pertaining to design and production discrepancies, ensure a lot of consistency, and provides highly accurate and detailed measurements of internal components.
• Apart from aerospace, automotive, and aviation applications, industrial CT can be used to inspect the inside of electronic equipment such as radios, and because of the extreme spatial resolution, some machines are capable of imaging the inside of cables that conduct electricity or optical fibers and computer chips.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a number of difficulties for the market's development. The reduction in demand for industrial CT scanners was brought on by supply chain disruptions as well as a decline in the manufacturing capacity of various companies. However, it is anticipated that the global restrictions will gradually loosen, and the increasing availability of coronavirus vaccines will propel the market upward.

Key Market Trends

Aerospace to Witness Significant Adoption

• The European Aeronautics industry develops and manufactures civil and military aircraft, helicopters, drones, aero-engines, and other systems and equipment. In Europe, industrial computed tomography is redefining the boundaries of inspection in the aerospace industry. In aerospace, computed tomography can be used to inspect smaller to medium-sized components such as turbine blades, aluminum castings, and tube welds. Thus the demand for computed tomography has been increasing significantly.
• In Europe, leading aerospace manufacturers across the globe now consider computed tomography (CT) scanning to be an essential part of the non-destructive testing (NDT) toolkit. Industrial CT can penetrate almost every material, from superalloys to lead to aluminum, providing hidden details that could be found by cutting and destroying finished parts.
• Industrial CT can penetrate almost every material, from superalloys to lead, revealing hidden details that previously could only be found by cutting and destroying finished parts. The solution, widely used in Europe, is advanced software that uses computed tomography scan data to create a three-dimensional virtual volume of a part, containing complete detailed information about its geometry, both surface, and interior.
• In Europe, over time, computed tomography became more mainstream throughout the aerospace sector, ensuring its presence in factory testing. For instance, in February 2022, YXLON International, with its presence in Europe, introduced a new computed tomography system to the global market. The YXLON UX50 computed tomography system has been developed specifically for operation in industrial environments. The development and launch of new computed tomography equipment are increasing the adoption rate even further.

United Kingdom is Expected to Witness Significant Market Growth

• Industrial computed tomography is primarily used by motor manufacturers across the United Kingdom for metrology, porosities and inclusions analysis, retro engineering, assembly verification, and many other applications linked to the automotive quality process. Therefore, the demand for industrial computed tomography has been increasing significantly.
• Moreover, the society of motor manufacturers and traders stated that the automotive industry is a vital part of the United Kingdom economy and integral to supporting the delivery of the agendas for leveling up, net zero, advancing global Britain, and the plan for growth. In 2021, according to the society, automotive-related manufacturing contributed EUR 67.0 billion in turnover and EUR 4.0 billion in value added to the United Kingdom economy and typically invested around EUR 3.0 billion each year in R&D.
• In the United Kingdom, with the advent of computed tomography use in the automotive industry, car manufacturers could perform without the time-consuming dismantling process to analyze the in-tact vehicle. Failure Investigations and computed tomography scanning provide an ability to inspect internal features of complex components that have undergone fatigue or mechanical testing without changing failure conditions. These inspections help detect the failures and, once seen, allow the smooth flow of operations.
• Furthermore, computed tomography has been used extensively in the oil and gas industry across the United Kingdom for imaging, quantifying properties, and determining the distribution of fluids in porous rocks. These factors are boosting the demand for industrial computed tomography.
• For instance, the UK oil and gas industry has come to an agreement (North Sea Transition Deal) with the UK Government to manage the green energy transition. In March 2021, the north sea transition deal aimed to support workers, businesses, and the supply chain through the transition to cleaner energy. The deal will commit joint investment from the sector and Government of EUR 14.0 - 16.0 billion (USD 19.0 - 22.0 billion) by 2030 in new technologies. Thus the requirement for Industrial computed tomography will boom in the market.

Competitive Landscape

The industrial computed tomography market is competitive and consists of several players like ZEISS International and Nikon Metrology NV. These significant players with a substantial share of the market are aiming to expand their customer base across other countries. The companies are increasing their market share by forming multiple partnerships and mergers, investing in projects, and launching new products into the market.

• May 2022 - VisiConsult collaborated with the Wenzel group. The goal of the partnership is for both parties to jointly advance the field of CT-based metrology solutions. The joint development of a product line specifically suited for industrial metrology based on computed tomography technology is one of the partnership's key components.
• July 2021 - Zeiss announced a collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory on a project to advance additively manufactured part characterization using x-ray computed tomography (CT) and artificial intelligence. The company can drive additive manufacturing processes with the help of Zeiss's computed tomography machines. Furthermore, its AI-powered x-ray CT has the potential to transform non-destructive testing (NDT) and metrology outside of the additive manufacturing industry.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support