Silicon nitride is in high demand owing to its excellent mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. It possesses high strength, wear resistance, thermal shock resistance and is light in weight. The inherent properties of silicon nitride have made it suitable for diverse applications across automotive, electronics and aerospace industries.
Silicon nitride has a wide range of applications in automotive components such as engine components, turbocharger rotors and brake pads due to its high strength to weight ratio. In electronics industry, it is used for making semiconductor device packaging, cutting tools and wafer handling equipment. Silicon nitride exhibits high thermal conductivity and heat resistance making it applicable in heat sinks, oven fixtures and other high temperature components in aerospace and industrial sectors. The rise in demand for lightweight materials and electric mobility are driving growth in automotive silicon nitride market.
Key Takeaways
Key players operating in the silicon nitride market are 3M, UBE Industries, Denka Company Limited, AlzChem Group AG, KYOCERA Corporation, CeramTec, CoorsTek, Toshiba Materials Co., Vesta Ceramics, Morgan Advanced Materials, Rogers Corporation, Reade International Corp. 3M and UBE Industries hold significant market share owing to their pioneering research and extensive product portfolio.
The Silicon Nitride Market Demand offers lucrative growth opportunities in the form of demand from additive manufacturing applications. Powdered silicon nitride acts as a ideal powder precursor material for 3D laser sintering and fused deposition modeling techniques due to its low density yet high strength properties.
Key players are focusing on expanding their global footprint through acquisitions and partnerships with regional players. For instance, in 2021, Kyocera acquired Innovumet, a Mexican ceramics manufacturer to strengthen its manufacturing capabilities and access the Latin American industrial ceramics market.
Market Drivers
- Wide application in automotive components such as engine, turbocharger and brake parts owing to its high strength to weight ratio properties is driving market growth. Automotive sector accounts for over 30% of global silicon nitride demand.
- Growing electronics industry and use of silicon nitride in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, smartphone components, memory disks is augmenting market revenues.
Market Restraints
- High processing costs involved in powder production and sintering of silicon nitride limits its usage in cost sensitive applications.
- Availability of substitute ceramic materials like alumina and zirconia acting as alternatives in some applications hampers market demand to some extent.
Segment Analysis
Silicon nitride ceramics segment is currently dominating the silicon nitride market. Silicon nitride ceramics have high mechanical strength and wear resistance properties, making them suitable for applications that require high strength and durability like cutting tools, bearings, etc. Within the ceramics segment, cutting tools sub-segment holds the major market share as these tools offer high strength and thermal shock resistance allowing metalworking operations at high cutting speeds without failure.
Global Analysis
The Asia Pacific region is currently the largest and fastest growing market for silicon nitride. China dominates the APAC as well as global silicon nitride market owing to presence of huge automotive, bearing and cutting tools industries in the country. Considering automotive and machine tools industry growth in China, demand for silicon nitride from these sectors is increasing at a high rate. The North America region is another major market globally, driven by strong automotive, aerospace and cutting tools industries in US and Canada. Growth in European region is supported by recovery in the automotive sector along with expansion of manufacturing sector across Germany, UK and other countries.
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