Wide Usage of 3D Nonwoven in Automotive Textiles Serving as a Major Factor Contributing to Market Growth

3D Nonwovens Market size is forecast to reach $691.3 million by 2026, after growing at a CAGR of 20.9% during 2021-2026. Nonwovens are broadly defined as sheet or web structures bonded together by entangling fiber or filaments (and by perforating films) mechanically, thermally, or chemically. The textile and 3D Nonwovens industry’s swift and far reaching response to the Coronavirus pandemic made huge impact this year too as the world faced shortages of disposable masks, respirators and other personal protective equipment. Many companies responded by shifting gears and repurposing existing lines and product lines toward production of medical materials and face masks while others invested in new production lines, which came online quickly thanks to shortened lead times.

As the 3D nonwoven technology is not highly prevalent and easily available, the market is majorly concentrated with minimal number of startups. However, the demand for 3d nonwovens is analyzed to grow which is turn boosting the market growth rate owing to the high demand in increasing the production capacity of the nonwovens with COVID-19. According to European Disposables and Nonwovens Association (EDANA), around 750 sq.km of nonwoven geotextiles are manufactured and sold every year, 60% of which are used in the construction of roads. There is an increasing demand for nonwoven geotextiles over geocells and geogrids for constructing roads, pavements, buildings, and dams as it has more absorption capacity. According to the Ministry of Textiles, in 2019, India had 40 geotextiles projects for roads, water reservoirs, and slope stabilization. Apart from construction, geotextile is now gaining popularity in other applications such as mining, oil drilling sites, shale gas, and others.

The usage of geotextile tubes is steadily increasing in the marine coast, as these are used for preventing the coastal erosion that occurred due to the rise in the level of the oceans and seas because of the increasing temperature. Geotextiles can prevent adjacent soil layers or fill materials from intermixing. In filtration applications, nonwoven geotextiles are used to retain soil particles while allowing the passage of liquids through the filter media. The demand for nonwoven geotextiles for these applications is expected to increase at a faster rate in the coming years, which will further provide Spunbonded Polyester 3D Nonwoven Market various opportunities.

Global economies are currently recovering from the consequences of the globe-sweeping COVID-19 pandemic. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the 3D Nonwovens wipes industry continued to operate, providing tools for slowing and reducing the impact of the virus. Due to the recommendations from WHO and the healthcare community, the necessity to use sanitizes, gloves, masks and wipes have become the norm globally. The nonwoven wipes industry has hence experienced a huge surge in demand that has challenged all stages of the supply chain. Disinfecting wipes have been supplied in record numbers, and demand for antibacterial wipes and healthcare wipes has also increased to extraordinary rates. It is not estimated that for some wipe segments this elevated demand will remain in place for the next few years, and overall global 3D nonwoven wipes demand through 2025 will exceed previous projections.

Europe holds a major share of the 3D Nonwovens market owing to the automotive and medical industry. Europe held the largest share in the 3D Nonwovens market in 2020 up to 41% in 2020. Considering the diversified demand from various end-use industries such as healthcare, agriculture and others, UK is also a major region for the 3D nonwovens market. 3D Nonwovens is widely used in the automotive, healthcare, medical and wipes industry in the U.K. The rising demand of disposable diapers, feminine hygiene products and wipes are some of the key factors highly supporting its market growth in that region.

Different strategies adopted by the key players to meet the increasing demand from different end users serves is supporting its market growth in that region. For instance, Moreover, Reifenhäuser Reicofil and Berry Global Group have signed a meltblown line contract for the production of filter material for the respirators FFP2 (N95) and FFP3 (N99). The Reicofil meltblown line is 1.6 m wide and is equipped with electrostatic charging technology for filter materials.

The rising use of 3D nonwoven in the automotive and aerospace industry owing to the properties such as light weight and superior strength is a major factor driving its market growth during the forecast period. Today in the aerospace industry, Belgium is one of the key player. Its aviation sector directly employs more than 10,000 workers, many more indirectly, valuable at approximately EUR 2.5 billion. In aerospace programs, Belgium is also one of the top countries for R&D as a GDP percentage. With the growing aerospace & defence sector the demand for 3D nonwovens is gradually increasing, which is anticipated to drive the 3D nonwovens market growth in the upcoming years.

Over the last few years, 3D Nonwovens have been one of the fastest growing segments of the industry. Asia is the biggest consumer of 3D Nonwovens and it will keep on growing with a healthy growth rate in coming years. Two- and three-dimensional textile fabrics are increasingly utilized technical textile areas from garments to structural load-bearing materials for various industries such as aerospace, defense, civil engineering, and transportation industries. Novel fabric formation techniques are also being developed from the fundamental methods like weaving, braiding, knitting and nonwoven technology.

With the advancement of the electrospinning technique, further advances in nonwoven technology are expected to manufacture nanofiber-based nonwoven planar sheet or 3-D composites. In particular in medical and hygienically applications this will open up new chances. In addition, the application, in nonwovens developed by needle punching or hydro entanglement, of bioactive and alloy fibers improves the efficiency of nonwovens hygiene material from many aspects, such as absorption, thermo-physical and comfortable properties, disease prevention and the abolition of disgusting odors. Electrospun nanofiber coatings can boost the efficiency and functionality of operating implants such as hip and knee replacement. Reusable and durable, biodegradable and recycle materials may be used for filtration. Due to fuel efficiency, environmental safety, recycling and economic performance, the natural fiber-based nonwoven fabric is widely applied to future transport industries.

The focus of future research is expected to be nonwoven nanomaterials which are widely used in medicine, electricity, electronics, automotive and other industries.

Due to its structural superiority and a large surface-to-volume ratio, its high porosity and pore interconnectivity, fibrous materials are attractive in biomedical applications. Electrospinning has emerged as an attractive nanotechnology among different methods of fiber-manufacturing to manufacture ultra-fine fibrous materials for multiple applications including tissue scaffolding. This technique can tailor processing parameters for obtaining the fibers of the desired morphology and physicochemical characteristics, such as the solution properties, tip-to-collector size, applied voltage, etc. Ideal fabrics should meet basic requirements such as 3D architecture, suitable mechanical and biodegradable properties as well as adequate cell adhesiveness and proliferation surface characteristics. However, most electrospun nanofiber-based skinning systems have a densely packaged, two-dimensional (2D) array that hinders the penetration of cells and their growth in the skin and restricts their use in regenerating tissues.

To solve this problem, many attempts have been made to construct a three-dimensional, nanofibrous biomimetic scaffold. Noble techniques such as gas foaming (GF), charge repulsion-assisted manufacturing, post-processing, liquid-assisted collection, alteration of the collector, and porogen-assisted techniques for biomedical applications to produce 3D nanofibrous scaffolds.

For their capacity to communicate with biological systems, it is crucial that these significant technologies continue to be investigated. The further development and the anticipated and unforeseen leaps forward that will form the field in the coming years will be the most fascinating to watch.

In June 2020, Berry Global Group, Inc. announced its collaboration with the Medicom Group to design the manufacturing solution and guarantee the supply of nonwoven fabric intended for use in producing hundreds of millions of face masks annually as part of Medicom’s agreement with the British Government. Hence the growing developments such as partnerships acquisitions and so on to keep up with the demand of nonwovens is set to boost the market growth rate during the forecast period 2021-2026.

The major companies in the 3D nonwovens market include Reifenhäuser GmbH & Co. KG Maschinenfabrik, Freudenberg, Andritz AG, Lindauer DORNIER GmbH, Gehring-Tricot Corp., Apex Mills, Oerlikon, Berry Global Inc., Avgol Nonwovens, Teijin Frontier and others. The key focus of the companies has shifted towards partnership and product launch.

In September 2020, Sigmatex launched recycled carbon fibre non-woven fabric. Sigmatex has developed a process that enables the capture and reprocessing of its internal waste streams, as well as those of its customers, in the most energy efficient way. The output of this is a high-quality product that is both versatile in its applications and easy to process. It is anticipated that this approach could lead to the avoidance of up to 500 metric tonnes of carbon fibre waste going to landfill each year by 2025.