Conductive Inks Market Forecasts to 2028 - Global Analysis By Type (Carbon / Graphene, Carbon Nanotube Inks, Conductive Polymer), Application (Automotive, Bio-sensors, Consumer Electronics, Displays, Energy), and By Geography

According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Conductive Inks Market is accounted for $3.02 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach $4.31 billion by 2028 growing at a CAGR of 5.2% during the forecast period. Conductive ink is an electrically conductive and printable ink that is used in printed objects or electronics. Conductive ink results in a printed object, which conducts electricity. It is produced by infusing conductive substrates into ink. The ink is created by infusing conductive material such as silver or graphite into the ink, which enables electrical conduction. The conductive ink has various applications including RFID, antenna, sensors, touch screens, printed heaters, and photovoltaic cells such as perovskite, CIGS, and silicon heterojunction solar cells. Conductive inks can be applied in different ways including, stencil print, syringe dispense, flexographic, screen-print, spray, and dip, among others.

Market Dynamics:

Driver:

Rapid growth in the electronics industry

Rising consumer preference for more efficient and lightweight electronics products has prompted manufacturers to seek new innovative methods and materials for manufacturing miniaturized electronic components. This includes utilizing conductive ink to manufacture printed electronic devices such as organic biosensors, IoT sensors, RFID tags, touch displays, thin-film PV cells, and printed heaters. With the emergence of various new technologies, including the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G networks, it is anticipated that more individuals and businesses around the world will upgrade their outdated electronics. Since this ink provides a fast and effective method for mass-producing electronics, it is likely to be adopted by more electronic manufacturers across the globe during the forecast period. Hence, the increased demand for updated electronic devices will benefit and drive the conductive inks market.

Restraint:

Price volatility of silver

The silver is a highly sought metal in the electronics sector owing to its high conductivity and oxidation stability. Typical examples of applications that use silver-based ink are printed and flexible electronics, which have grown in popularity in recent years. However, the increasing cost of silver has prompted a need to either minimize or replace the usage of this expensive metal. Silver price fluctuations have led manufacturers to shift their focus to alternative low-cost conductive metals, such as aluminum copper, and graphene. The offered alternatives have qualities that are not comparable to silver due to their inferior properties, thus restricting market growth potential.

Opportunity:

Development of new conductive polymer ink

A new conductive n-type polymer ink is developed that is stable in air and at high temperatures. The new n-type material is in the form of ink, with ethanol functioning as the solvent. The ink may be deposited by merely spraying the solution onto a surface, making the production of organic electrical devices simpler and less expensive. The development paves the way for innovative conductive inks for printed electronics that are highly energy efficient. The doping technique may be used to manipulate the electrical properties of conducting polymers to achieve the desired functionality. Moreover, according to the researchers, the newly developed electrically conductive polymers would enable the development and mass production of lightweight and flexible electronic devices, including transistors, organic biosensors, light-emitting diodes, and solar cells.

Threat:

High-end technology requirements

The conductive inks are produced by incorporating distinct types of metals such as copper and silver or by using carbon particles. Carbon particles are preferred in most of the applications as they offer numerous technical properties at a low cost. Compared with other metals, carbon inks have relatively less and unreliable conductivity. The major factor acting as a constraint for the conductive inks market growth is the lack of chemical compatibility with most of the polymers, which is necessary to provide mechanical endurance. Moreover, there is a need to develop technologies that can impart long-term stability of conductive inks for commercial purposes. This issue is mainly faced with nanoparticle inks, as the technologies required for its use are expensive.

The silver-based conductive inks segment is expected to be the largest during the forecast period

The silver-based conductive inks segment is estimated to have a lucrative growth. Silver-based inks are used in the production of high-performance electrical devices because of their high electrical and thermal conductivity, chemical stability, and ability to conduct electricity in their oxide state. These inks are mainly used in printing Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags which are used in modern transit tickets. Moreover, silver nanoparticles also have a low melting point, enabling the production of conductive thin films at low temperatures, which is important for applications in flexible substrates, such as polymers and papers.

The radio frequency identification (RFID) segment is expected to have the highest CAGR during the forecast period

The radio frequency identification (RFID) segment is anticipated to witness the fastest CAGR growth during the forecast period. RFID technology is profoundly used in a wide a variety of devices such as smart cards, credit cards, passports, etc. It offers high flexibility, adhesion, and compatibility requirements which makes it ideal for a wide-range of applications. Additionally, RFID products have to be capable of transmitting and receiving specific radio frequencies. The use of conductive inks in the printing of RFID chips have several benefits, such as reduction in size and faster and more efficient production, which results in cheaper cost of production.

Region with highest share:

Asia Pacific is projected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period due to the highest economic growth which will provide lucrative business growth opportunities for conductive inks market size in the near future. China leads the global conductive inks market size owing to robust growth in photovoltaic and consumer electronics sector in the country. For instance, China accounts close to 30% of the global automotive production and thus holds a prominent demand share in the overall conductive inks market.

Region with highest CAGR:

North America is projected to have the highest CAGR over the forecast period due to the growing demand from the electronic device manufacturing industry. The U.S is one of the hubs for automobiles and contains many manufacturing facilities witnessing a rapid increase in usage of electric vehicles sales in recent years. In addition, the rising product demand in manufacturing electronic components installed in electric vehicles will raise the Conductive Inks Market growth.

Key players in the market

Some of the key players profiled in the Conductive Inks Market include: Applied Ink Solutions, CHASM, Conductive Compounds Inc, Creative Materials Inc, Daicel Corporation, DowDuPont, Fujikura Ltd, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Heraeus Holding GmbH, Johnson Matthey, NovaCentrix, Parker Chromerics, Pchem Associates Inc, Poly-Ink, Sun Chemical Corporation, and Vorbeck Materials.

Key Developments:

In October 2021, Sun Chemical introduces Xennia Pearl, a range of pigment conductive inks with a host of industrial applications. This range comprises conductive inks for high-viscosity as well as mid-viscosity printheads, has been designed after extensive market assessment and certain consumer needs, especially the requirement for multi-substrate compatibility, high fastness, high print performance, and consistent color.

In June 2020, Haydale announced that after they achieved success from their Phase 1 collaboration agreement with IRPC Public Company (IRPC), they have now signed a Phase 2 collaboration agreement with the latter. With this agreement, IRPC will now focus on manufacturing transparent graphene and functionalized acetylene black conductive inks that would help in RFID, NFC and related applications.

Types Covered:

• Carbon / Graphene
• Carbon Nanotube Inks
• Conductive Polymer
• Copper-based Conductive Inks
• Silver-based Conductive Inks
• Electrically Conductive Inks
• Dielectric Inks
• Other Types

Applications Covered:

• Automotive
• Bio-sensors
• Consumer Electronics
• Displays
• Energy
• Food & Nutrition
• Membrane Switches
• Packaging
• Pharmaceutical Formulation
• Photovoltaics
• Printed Circuit Boards
• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
• Solar Panels
• Thermal Heating
• Touch Screen
• Utilities

Regions Covered:

• North America
  • US
  • Canada
  • Mexico

• Europe
  • Germany
  • UK
  • Italy
  • France
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe

• Asia Pacific
  • Japan
  • China
  • India
  • Australia
  • New Zealand
  • South Korea
  • Rest of Asia Pacific

• South America
  • Argentina
  • Brazil
  • Chile
  • Rest of South America

• Middle East & Africa
  • Saudi Arabia
  • UAE
  • Qatar
  • South Africa
  • Rest of Middle East & Africa

What our report offers:

• Market share assessments for the regional and country-level segments

• Strategic recommendations for the new entrants

• Covers Market data for the years 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025, and 2028

• Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)

• Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations

• Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends

• Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments

• Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancements

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All the customers of this report will be entitled to receive one of the following free customization options:

• Company Profiling
  • Comprehensive profiling of additional market players (up to 3)
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• Regional Segmentation
  • Market estimations, Forecasts and CAGR of any prominent country as per the client's interest (Note: Depends on feasibility check)

• Competitive Benchmarking
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