PRINTED ELECTRONICS MARKET ANALYSIS

Printed Electronics Market Size and Trends

The printed electronics market is estimated to be valued at USD 14.72 Bn in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 49.31 Bn by 2031, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.8% from 2024 to 2031.

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The printed electronics market is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Key factors such as the increasing demand for lightweight and flexible electronics from various end-use industries and the growing adoption of printed electronics in applications including displays, sensors, batteries, Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, and photovoltaics will boost the demand for printed electronics. Adoption across consumer electronics products for implementation in smart devices, wearables, and TVs will further support the market growth. Additionally, ongoing investments in R&D of printing technologies coupled with advancements in printing techniques will expand the application horizons and drive the printed electronics market during the forecast period.

Consumer Electronics Providing Tailwinds

One of the primary drivers of growth in the printed electronics market is the expanding consumer electronics space. As device miniaturization becomes increasingly important, printed electronics allow for thinner, lighter, and more flexible electronic components compared to traditional silicon-based electronics. Technologies like printed transistors, displays, and batteries are enabling innovative form factors in phones, tablets, wearables, and other consumer devices.

Manufacturers are under constant pressure to deliver regularly upgraded products while keeping costs low. Printed electronics offer a solution here as well through cheaper and faster production processes than conventional manufacturing methods. Printing techniques can deposit materials on diverse substrates quickly and at low temperatures, without the need for cleanrooms. This reduces manufacturing complexities and costs. Furthermore, at-home and portable printing of electronic circuits could facilitate user customization and on-demand manufacturing.

For instance, in November 2022, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA a German multinational chemical and consumer goods company and LAIIER a smart building monitoring and preventative maintenance platform, joined forces to advance smart building applications using printed electronics. The collaboration focuses on enhancing the use of LAIIER's Severn Water Leak Detector in commercial and industrial buildings. By combining their distinct technology and innovation strengths, both companies aim to further develop this solution for improved functionality.

Market Concentration and Competitive Landscape

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While consumer markets generate much buzz, industrial and manufacturing sectors also provide a massive opportunity landscape for printed electronics. In these settings, requirements around ruggedness, scalability, and functional integration call for solutions beyond rigid silicon chips. Technologies like printed sensors, energy harvesters, and photovoltaics are finding increasing applications in industrial IoT, smart manufacturing, logistics, and transportation.

As industrial automation expands, printed sensors allow the real-time monitoring of environmental conditions, asset performance, and products.

For instance, in March 2022, Ynvisible Interactive Inc. launched a new printed e-paper display that uses the least amount of energy in the market. This upgraded ultra-low-power display consumes 50% less energy per switch compared to its previous version, and it can stay on and off for up to 10 times longer. This makes the technology the most energy-efficient display available in the e-paper market.

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The printed electronics market faces several challenges. The technology is still considered relatively new and expensive to implement compared to traditional electronics manufacturing methods. Additional research is needed to drive down costs and improve printing capabilities and resolution. Limited functionality also poses difficulties as printed devices often cannot match the performance of rigid components. Strict environmental regulations around the usage of inks and materials requires extensive safety testing. Supply chain and infrastructure are still developing to support mass production and meet demand at scale.

Market Opportunities: Diverse Applications across Sectors

As technology advances, applications are emerging across multiple sectors such as flexible displays, smart labels, photovoltaics, and medical sensors. This opens up new revenue streams to displace existing technologies. Production costs are expected to decline significantly over time due to refinements in printing processes. New conductive materials continue to be developed and commercialized as well.

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: The Rising Dominance of Inks in Printed Electronics

Within the materials segment of the printed electronics market, inks is estimated to emerge as the dominant component contributing the highest share of 81.7% in 2024. This is owed to several key factors driving ink demand.

Firstly, inks offer superior functionality that enables the digitization of almost any surface. The advanced conductive, dielectric and resistive formulations allow circuits, sensors and displays to be directly printed onto rigid or flexible mediums. This expands the design possibilities compared to traditional silicon-based electronics.

Secondly, inks are amenable to high-volume, continuous and low-cost printing processes. Technologies like flexography, inkjet, screen and gravure printing have become mainstream manufacturing solutions, greatly aided by the precision and consistency enabled by specialized inks. The development of nano-particle and other new-age ink chemistries have accelerated production scalability.

Moreover, inks fulfill an increasingly vital role in interactive and smart applications. Formulations engineered for properties like stretchability, transparency and compatibility with surfaces are integral to the production of wearables, Internet of Things devices and aesthetic enhancements. Multifunctional inks meeting rigorous performance standards further strengthen their strategic importance.

Lastly, focus on sustainability has boosted bio-based and environment-friendly inks. Regulations against toxic chemicals are prompting R&D into plant-derived solvents and biomaterials. Such eco-friendly inks allow manufacturers to participate in the circular economy while meeting regulatory norms.

Together, these factors surrounding ink technology, processing compatibility and multi-industry relevance drive their prominence as the frontrunner in the printed electronics materials segment. Continuous refinement maintains inks' competitive edge over alternative materials like substrates.

Insights, By Technology: The Leading Role of Screen Printing Technology

Within the technology segment, screen printing has been emerging as the dominant process with 61.78% of the market share in 2024, owing to several advantages. Firstly, it offers high resolution printing down to the micron level with good thickness control. This high precision ensures high-fidelity reproduction of fine design details, enabling applications requiring minimal ink usage and well-defined patterns.

Secondly, screen printing is highly productive and cost-effective for mass manufacturing. Specialized equipment allows for rapid automated printing of multiple copies with minimal material wastage. High-volume production needs of industries like smartphones, automotive and consumer goods rely greatly on-screen printing's efficiency.

Moreover, screen printing accommodates a wide variety of ink viscosities and substrates. It is amenable for everything from fluid conductive particle suspensions to highly viscous dense pastes required for applications like energy storage electrodes. The process versatility has made screen printing irreplaceable across multiple substrate types.

Additionally, screen printing requires minimal capital expenditure and allows for on-site production. Portable reconfigurable printers have simplified decentralized and customized manufacturing. This decentralized production model has found strong uptake in rapidly evolving industries with bespoke requirements.

Together, screen printing's high resolution capabilities, productivity, material compatibility, low costs and decentralized suitability have cemented its status as the market-leading technology in printed electronics fabrication. Ongoing refinements to squeeze, stencil and equipment design further strengthen its technical advantage.

Insights, By Application: Displays Dominate the Application Landscape through Visual Connectivity

In the application segment, displays is estimated to account for the largest share of 34.21% in 2024, owing to their prominence across consumer and industrial markets. Firstly, they address the universal need for human-device interaction through intuitive visualization of information and content. The proliferation of smart devices tremendously elevates demand.

Secondly, printed displays offer cost benefits over silicon alternatives through production scalability. Rigid, flexible and foldable iterations allow for uniquely slim form factors and visually appealing designs not possible otherwise. Their visual appeal as an interactive surface enhances user experience.

Moreover, transparent and semi-transparent displays unlock wearables, smart automotive components, retail signage and more. The ability to impart visibility while digitally rendering content broadens use cases. Next-generation micro-LED and OLED technologies further improve display qualities like resolution, contrast and power efficiency.

Displays also act as a key interface between the digital and physical worlds. Integrated with diverse printed sensors, they visualize real-time data from the environment, human physiology and industrial processes. This situational awareness strengthens displays' relevance across medical, industrial IoT, smart home and smart city landscapes.

Widespread compatibility with form factors, continuous performance upgrades, and role as an interactive conduit cement displays as the dominant printed electronics application. Their visual language bridges the digital and physical, establishing an intuitive connection between people and technology.

Regional Insights

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The Asia Pacific region is estimated to hold the largest share of 43.8% in the printed electronics market in 2024, especially countries like China, is witnessing the fastest growth and emerging as the new hotspot for printed electronics. This can be attributed to massive government support and initiatives focused on energizing the local electronics industry. For example, the Chinese government is providing subsidies, low interest loans, and tax incentives for investments in printed flexible electronics manufacturing. As a result, global as well as domestic players are establishing their production bases in China to cater to the growing domestic demand as well as boost exports.

Countries like China also have inherent advantages like availability of low-cost raw materials and skilled labor force for electronics manufacturing. This is attracting significant foreign investments and technology transfers in the region. Overall, factors such as the huge internal market, low-cost manufacturing environment and strong government push are fuelling rapid expansion of the printed electronics industry in the Asia Pacific region, especially China. It is emerging as one of the strongest contenders to global leader North America in the coming times.

North America has expected to establish itself as the fastest growing regional market for printed electronics with 21.07% of the CAGR. This can be attributed to strong industry presence and continued investments in R&D activities within the region. Major players like DuPont, E Ink, 3M, etc. have their headquarters and large production facilities located in countries like the U.S. and Canada. As a result, the technology has seen widespread commercialization and adoption in applications such as flexible displays, smart labels, energy harvesters, and others. In addition, companies based out of NA region are at the forefront of developing new and innovative printed electronic products. This allows them to cater to local demand as well as export such products globally.

Another important factor is the relatively higher pricing that companies in North America can command for their premium offerings compared to other regions. This pricing power, combined with large scale production, enables players here to gain significant profitability and further invest in new product development. Overall, the region enjoys a host of advantages including technological leadership, availability of skilled workforce, and strong manufacturing infrastructure that has made it the clear leader in the printed electronics space.

Market Report Scope

Printed Electronics Industry News

• In April 2022, E-Ink, a leading company in digital paper technology, introduced E-Ink Kaleido 3, enhancing the display capabilities of eReaders and eNotes with 16 levels of greyscales and 4096 colors. Compared to the previous E-Ink Kaleido Plus, the new version, E-Ink Kaleido 3, boasts a 30% increase in color saturation.
• In February 2022, Ensurge Micropower ASA, a micro battery manufacturer, disclosed a customer agreement with a Fortune 500 industrial company specializing in capital equipment manufacturing. The agreement focuses on delivering solid-state micro-batteries tailored for applications like IoT and medical devices.
• In September 2021, Novacentrix, known for next-gen printed electronics, collaborated with the University of Texas at Dallas to work on solar panel production. The University showcased a method called photonic curing, useful for creating thin films in flexible electronics.

*Definition: The printed electronics market involves devices and materials that are made through specialized digital and physical printing processes. This includes technologies like printed sensors, displays, batteries, and integrated circuits that can be produced using printing techniques like inkjet printing, screen printing, flexography, gravure, and others. Products in this market involve thinner, lighter, and more flexible electronic components that are printable on various flexible substrates such as paper, plastic and fabric. They have applications in consumer electronics, wearables, medical devices, sensors, and several industrial.

Market Segmentation

• Material Insights (Revenue, USD Bn, 2019 - 2031)
  • Substrate
  • Inks
•  Technology Insights (Revenue, USD Bn, 2019 - 2031)
  • Flexography
  • Ink-jet Printing
  • Gravure Printing
  • Screen Printing
  • Others
•  Application Insights (Revenue, USD Bn, 2019 - 2031)
  • Sensors
  • Displays
  • Batteries
  • RFID
  • Lighting
  • Photovoltaic
  • Others
• Regional Insights (Revenue, USD Bn, 2019 - 2031)
  • North America
    • U.S.
    • Canada
  • Latin America
    • Brazil
    • Argentina
    • Mexico
    • Rest of Latin America
  • Europe
    • Germany
    • U.K.
    • Spain
    • France
    • Italy
    • Russia
    • Rest of Europe
  • Asia Pacific
    • China
    • India
    • Japan
    • Australia
    • South Korea
    • ASEAN
    • Rest of Asia Pacific
  • Middle East & Africa
    • GCC Countries
    • South Africa
    • Israel
    • Rest of Middle East & Africa
• Key Players Insights
  • Agfa-Gevaert Group.
  • Applied Ink Solutions.
  • BASF SE
  • Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH
  • Dow
  • DuPont
  • E Ink Holdings Inc.
  • ELANTAS Europe Srl.
  • Intrinsiq Materials, Inc.
  • Jabil Inc.
  • Molex
  • NextFlex.
  • Nissha Co., Ltd.
  • Novacentrix.
  • Optomec, Inc.
  • Palo Alto Networks
  • PRINTED ELECTRONICS LTD.
  • SAMSUNG
  • Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
  • Thin Film Electronics ASA.
  • Vorbeck MaterialsCorp.
  • Ynvisible Interactive Inc.