CUPROUS IODIDE MARKET ANALYSIS

Cuprous iodide widely known as a metal catalyst. It is off white to light brown powder having a chemical formula CuI. It can be prepared by heating iodine and copper in concentrated hydriodic acid. Demand of CuI is increasing attributing to its properties such as catalyzing ability in inorganic and organic synthesis, its use in cloud seeding (i.e. artificial rainfall), ability to function as semiconductor, and for heat stabilizer in manufacturing of nylon 6 and nylon 66. As per Food and Drug Administration (FDA), cuprous iodide can be used as a food additive, in table salt as a source of dietary iodine.

Market Dynamics:

• Use of CuI in solar cells is expected to be a major driver for its market growth, owing to its ability to function as p-type semiconductor.
• Non-renewable energy sources such as crude oil are depleting at high rate, however, energy demand is increasing with growing population. According to energy statistics 2018, of Government of India, solar power potential is 64.86% of total potential of renewable energies.
• Increasing demand for renewable energy is propelling demand for solar cells and thereby CuI to supplement energy requirement of the countries.

Global Cuprous Iodide Market Outlook:

• Among applications, polymer additive segment contributes to high market share, as it is used as an additive to nylon (polyamides). Global production of polyamide is growing since 2013, it was over 7 million tons in 2015, and it is further increasing, which is expected to increase demand for CuI.
• CuI helps in stabilization of nylons against effect of light and heat. Important application of Nylon 6 and nylon 66 is in high growing automotive, electrical, and electronics sector. According to Hanser’s report 2016, demand for finished products in these sectors increased by 10% from 2013 to 2015, as a result of increasing demand from Europe, North America and Asia. However, demand was higher from China. China was the biggest consumer of nylon 6 (2.3 million tonnes) in 2015. Higher demand of nylon will increase the demand for CuI.

Key players:

• Key players operating in the global Cuprous Iodide market include: Iofina, Ajay-SQM, William Blythe, Tocean Iodine Products, Jindian Chemical, Jiangxi Shengdian S&T, Toronto Research Chemicals, Samrat Remedies Limited, Strem Chemicals, Inc, and New Alliance Dye Chem Pvt. Ltd.

Global Cuprous Iodide Market Taxonomy:

On the basis of application, global Cuprous Iodide market is segmented into:

• Inorganic and Biochemical Synthesis
• Cloud Seeding
• Polymer Additive
• Adsorbent
• Semiconductor and battery manufacturing

On the basis of end-use industry, global Cuprous Iodide market is segmented into:

• Food
• Animal feed
• Fibers and Textile
• Automobile
• Electronics
• Agricultural

On the basis of region, global Cuprous Iodide market is segmented into:

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• South America
  • Brazil
  • Argentina
  • Rest of South America
• Europe
  • U.K.
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • France
  • Spain
  • Russia
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • South Korea
  • ASEAN
  • Australia
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• Middle East
• Africa

Key Developments:

• In July 2019, in a research article published on National Institutes of Health, the U.S FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has approved cuprous iodide for iodization of salt. The use of cuprous iodide as a dietary iodine supplement in the form of iodized salt is expected to drive the market for cuprous iodide in North America.
• In June 2019, in a research study published on Materials (Basel) journal, powder-pressed copper iodide was used as a Hole Transporting material (HTM) for perovskite cells, replacing high-cost spiro-OMeTAD. This technological development will further boost the market for Cuprous Iodide in the electronics industry.
• Increasing investments in the solar and other renewable energy is set to drive the copper iodide market as it has been increasingly used as a fabricating material for solar cells. For instance, according to the United Nation’s report – the investments in the renewable energy is estimated to triple in the coming decade (till 2029).
• In September 2017, in a research published by Nagoya University – Department of Materials Process Industry studied the use of copper iodide in solar cell manufacturing due to its superior antireflection effect. It was fond that the lifetime increased due to large conduction band offset achieved due to copper iodide. The research will increase the demand for cuprous oxide in the renewable energy industry.