The Future of the Graphene Market?
Since the discovery of graphene in 2004, interest in the material has grown tremendously. Academics, governments, and businesses across the world are investing in R&D and finding new ways to leverage graphene’s versatility and unique properties; this has led to continuous market growth through the development of new and innovative products.
Future Projections
Researchers across the board agree that the graphene market will be worth well over $100 million. More importantly, researchers agree that the market has tremendous growth potential. According to studies conducted by Lux Research the graphene market is set to grow by 40% each year, reaching $126 million by 2020. A study by BBC Research predicts that the market will be valued at $2.1 billion by 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 46.3%.
Geographic Segmentation
From a global perspective, the graphene market can be segmented into four geographic regions: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Since 2015, the United States has arguably been the highest revenue-generating segment. However, the majority of graphene produced is being utilized by universities and other academic organizations for research and development activities. Asia-Pacific seems to be one of the most promising regions, registering a revenue of $3.9 million in 2016, the region also boasts an expected growth rate of 34%. This growth is largely dependent on the large graphite mines in places like China and the potential for the application of graphene in electronics in various countries.
Market Segmentation
Graphene can be segmented into four categories. The first is mono-layer & bi-layer graphene; these thin pieces of graphene are often used in testing and developed in powder, films, and flakes. The second is few-layer graphene (FLG), FLG has a similar composition but possesses more graphene layers. The third is graphene oxide, an acidic compound made from carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. And the final category is graphene nanoplatelets, small stacks of graphene that can be used in composite applications. In 2015, nanoplatelets accounted for roughly two-thirds of the overall market revenue, while monolayer and bilayer graphene attributed for one-third of the market share. Overall, optimistic scenarios show the market value potential for graphene semiconductors to be around $70 billion by 2030.
Industry Drivers
Industry drivers vary from region to region. As previously mentioned, the existence of graphite mines in China and graphene’s potential for use in electronics has expedited growth in the Asia-Pacific. Other industry drivers include the dynamic applications of graphene in numerous industries from composites to energy storage, and research in countries like India, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan that have invested large sums into graphene research. Even more impressive are the efforts being made by the European Union. In 2013, the European Union created the Graphene Flagship, a graphene research initiative with a budget of over €1 billion.
Industry Constraints
Several restraints are prohibiting the growth of the graphene market. Four major constraints are the price of production equipment, competitive technologies, market fragmentation, and the technical limitations associated with graphene production. Of the four, the high cost of production equipment and the technical limitations pertaining to production are the most detrimental to growth. That’s why companies like GraphenTech are crucial to the graphene revolution; because developing proprietary technologies which enable the production of graphene at economically feasible prices may be the most significant issue in the industry that needs to be solved.
Like any other market, graphene has its challenges; however, unlike those other markets, graphene is showing tremendous promise. It is predicted that the average growth of the graphene market over the next ten years will be roughly 40%, and with global interest and untold applications, the sky’s the limit for the graphene market.