Dimethyl Ether - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2024 - 2029)

The Dimethyl Ether Market size is estimated at 4.92 Million tons in 2024, and is expected to reach 7.48 Million tons by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 8.76% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

COVID-19 negatively impacted the market, and considering the pandemic scenario, the demand for DME-based LPG fuel from the automotive segment decreased as people were not traveling frequently. However, after the easing of lockdowns, the industry picked up, and the fuel demand has increased worldwide.

Key Highlights

• Over the short term, the growing demand for the LPG blending application will drive the market's growth.
• High costs for altering current infrastructure to use DME and increasing EV use can act as a restraint for the market.
• Growing research for using DME as an alternative fuel and an under-established market will likely create opportunities for the market in the coming years.
• Asia-Pacific is likely to dominate the market studied during the forecast period with robust demand for fuel, LPG, and others.

Dimethyl Ether Market Trends

LPG Blending Segment to Dominate the Market

• Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is one of the significant applications of dimethyl ether (DME), which can be blended with traditional LPG at a pre-specified ratio for many applications.
• DME is blended with LPG as an alternative fuel additive for enhancing combustion, reducing hazardous emissions, and reducing dependency on LPG. Currently, around 15-25% of DME is utilized in DME-LPG blends, with higher ratio blends being researched, as a better blend may require equipment changes for usage.
• Countries like China, India, and Indonesia, are aggressively pushing for the use of DME as an alternate fuel, as these countries are highly dependent on imports to meet their local LPG demand.
• According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the cumulative value of liquefied petroleum gas production in the first ten months of 2022 accounted for 41,071 kilotons, compared to 40,009 kilotons during the same period in the previous year.
• In India, LPG consumption was 2.2 million metric tons (MMT) in April 2022. In 2021-2022, about 90% of LPG was consumed by households, 8% by industrial sectors, and 2% by vehicles in the country.
• Indonesia is another Asian country aggressively pushing for DME blended LPG for its energy needs. Companies, such as Air Products and Chemicals and PT Bukit Asam, are moving forward with significant projects in the country to produce DME from coal for LPG blending applications.
• North America is estimated to be the fasting growing region in the global market. In North America, the United States is expected to be the largest market expected to drive demand in the forecast period.
• DME is used for LPG blending that is in Propane autogas in vehicles. According to the Propane Education and Research Council, there are nearly 260,000 on-road LPG vehicles with certified fuel systems in the United States. Many are used in fleet applications, such as school buses, shuttles, and police vehicles.
• According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the consumption of LPG in the year 2021 was 1387.32 thousand barrels/day.
• Therefore, the factors above are expected to significantly impact the market in the coming years.

Asia-Pacific to Dominate the Market

• Asia-Pacific holds the largest consumption share of dimethyl ether (DME) from various end-use applications such as LPG blending, propellants, fuels, and others. In Asia-Pacific, China has a major demand share, followed by Japan, South Korea, and India, among others.
• China is the first country to start using DME-blended LPG on a commercial scale. The majority of China's DME demand is from households (for LPG blended cooking gas supply). In China, 20% of DME blended LPG products are used for this purpose.
• According to the BP Stats, consumption of oil-based fuel in Asia-Pacific accounted for 184.21 exajoules in 2021, compared to 174.17 exajoules in 2020.
• According to the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell, as of April 2022, LPG bottling capacity across the northern region of India amounted to around 6.8 million metric tons per annum. Overall, the bottling capacity across the country stood at around 21.5 million metric tons per annum.
• According to the METI (Japan), the production volume of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) in Japan accounted for 3.15 million metric tons in 2021, compared to 3.04 million metric tons in 2020.
• Thus, the demand for DME is expected to increase during the forecast period in the region due to the factors mentioned above.

Dimethyl Ether Industry Overview

The dimethyl ether market is partially consolidated, with the top five players accounting for a significant share. Some of the key players in the market include KOREA GAS CORPORATION, ZPCIR, Jiutai Energy Group, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Nouryon (not in any particular order).

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