LEATHERHEAD, England—Market expansion for high-performance elastomers in the past decade will push global consumption to 1.63 million metric tons in 2019, according to a new study by Smithers Rapra.
"The Future of High-Performance Elastomers to 2024" forecasts continued acceleration of demand, with a compound annual growth rate of 6.1 percent that drives worldwide demand to 2.19 million tons in 2024, according to a Smithers release.
The transportation sector will remain the largest user of HPEs, providing 48 percent of overall demand in 2019, Smithers said. That, along with the electronics and electrical uses sectors, will be the major growth segments from 2019-24.
According to the report, product and market innovation are key drivers for future opportunities. Some of the trends analyzed in the report include: Improving heat and chemical resistance of HPEs to allow use in automotive and engine construction; leveraging opportunities for elastomer components in autonomous vehicles and electric vehicle battery systems; and development of dielectric elastomers for use in green energy generation and human prostheses.
The report also quantifies and analyzes the global market for eight HPE grades across six end-use applications and 19 regional and national markets, Smithers said.
"The Future of High-Performance Elastomers to 2024" is available at smithersrapra.com for $6,500.