Specialty Silicones Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Specialty Silicones Market Overview

Specialty Silicones Market size is expected to be valued at $18.7 billion by the end of the year 2026 and is set to grow at a CAGR of 7.6% during the forecast period from 2021-2026. Specialty silicones find applications in various key-use industries and therefore the development and innovation in end user industries which is driving the demand for specialty silicones market. Specialty silicones is extensively used in the production of defoaming agents, which is used in various applications such as detergent powders, food processing, pharmaceuticals and other industrial applications like wood pulp, paint, oil drilling and wastewater treatment. Other applications of the products of specialty silicone are also driving the market like silicone elastomers which is used in electrical and electronics industry for mechanical insulation. Furthermore, other by products such as silicone greases are also used as lubricants in many applications as it is waterproof and has high resistance to extreme temperature. Silicone surfactants are also widely used in the textile industry due to the superior properties such as high resistance to inks. These factors are hugely driving the specialty silicone market.  

COVID-19 impact

Although the specialty silicones market took a hit during the Covid-19 pandemic, the specialty silicones market also saw an increase in the demand from the medical industry as it is widely used in many medical applications such as tubes, catheters and respiratory masks, which was in great demand during the global pandemic. The demand from other key-us industries however reduced to a great extent owing to the economic shutdown across the globe. The specialty silicones market witnessed a good amount of demand from the healthcare and medical industry. The specialty silicones market is set to restore to normalcy by the year end 2021.

Specialty Silicones Market Report Coverage

The report: “Specialty Silicones Market – Forecast (2021-2026)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Specialty Silicones Industry.

By Product Type: Defoaming Agents, Silicone Elastomers, Thin Silicone Membranes, Silicone Textile Softeners, Silicone Water Repellents, Silicone Resins and Others.
By Form: Fluids, Greases and Others.
By Application: Molded Parts, Automobile Parts, Medical Solutions, Rubbers, Cosmetics and Others.
By End-Use Industry: Textiles Industry, Medical & Healthcare Industry, Electrical & Electronics, Agriculture, Automotive, Building & Construction, Personal Care, Chemical Manufacturing, Food Processing and Others.
By Geography: North America (U.S, Canada, Mexico), Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium Spain, Russia and Rest of Europe), APAC (China, Japan India, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Rest of South America) and RoW (Middle East and Africa).

Key Takeaways

• Asia-Pacific market held the largest share in the specialty silicone market owing to the increase in the growth and development of the medical industry and automobile industry in the Asia-Pacific countries like India, China and Japan.
• The increase in the demand for specialty silicone from the medical industry for various applications such as tubes, catheters, respiratory masks, also owing to the covid-19 pandemic is driving the specialty silicones market.
• Specialty silicones is also commonly used in the textile industry for pre-treatments, dyeing, colouring and finishing which is increasing the demand for specialty silicones market.
• Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the specialty silicones market witnessed demand from the medical industry owing to its uses in the medical applications and is set to grow in the coming months of the year 2021.

FIGURE: Asia-Pacific Specialty Silicones Market Revenue, 2020-2026 (US$ Billion)

Specialty Silicones Market Segment Analysis – By Product Type

Defoaming agents held the largest share of 38% in the specialty silicones market in the year 2020. Defoaming agents are widely used in applications like detergent powders, food products, pharmaceutical products and other industrial applications such as wood pulp, paper, paint & coatings, oil drilling, wastewater treatments and others. The global detergent industry was valued at US$ 42.54 billion during the year 2019. Specialty silicones help in regulating the foam formation and helps in keeping the product free from foam. Therefore, the above reasons are driving the specialty silicones market.

Specialty Silicones Market Segment Analysis – By Form

Silicone greases segment held the largest share of 45% in the specialty silicones market in the year 2020. Silicones greases is used as part lubricants and insulation in electronic devices and provides resistance against extreme temperature, pressure and load. Silicone greases have excellent fluidity at low temperature and provides low volatility and good thermal stability at high temperatures. Silicone greases works great on porous products such as plastic parts, hinges of door and rifles & guns. Silicone greases are odorless, contains very low level of toxicity, resistant to radiation and microorganisms, which is highly driving the silicone greases segment in the specialty silicones market. 

Specialty Silicones Market Segment Analysis – By Application

Rubber segment held the largest share of 33% in the specialty silicones market in the year 2020. Rubber is highly used in production of many products such as tires, footwear, cushions, rug backings, conveyor belts and others. For instance, according to Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the manufacturing sector’s gross value added (GVA) was valued at US $ 397.14 billion in the year 2020 in India. The increase in the growth of the manufacturing sector will eventually lead to the increase in the demand for rubber conveyor belts, which will drive the demand for rubber industry. According to Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries, in June 2021, the global demand for natural rubber (NR) is estimated to further expand by 8.0%, year-on-year, amounting to 13.869 million tonnes. Specialty silicones is extensively used in the production of rubber, due to the enhanced properties and advantages silicones provide such as smoothness, increased quality and high load bearing capacity. This is driving the rubber segment in the specialty silicones market.

Specialty Silicones Market Segment Analysis – By End-Use Industry

Medical and Healthcare industry held the largest share of 30% in the specialty silicones market in the year 2020. Specialty silicones is widely used in various medical applications, owing to its features and enhanced performance. It is used in the production of many medical applications and equipment such as extra-corporeal equipment in kidney dialyses, contact lenses, prosthetics, catheters, shunts, implants, tubing, heart valves and others. For instance, according to the latest report published by European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations in the year 2020, the pharmaceutical industry in the United States grew by 6.1% and the pharmaceutical industry of the European Nation grew by 5.4% during the year 2019 and Brazilian pharmaceutical industry grew by 11.2% during the year 2019. Furthermore, the total number of eyelid surgery which uses silicone prosthetics increased at 14.5% during the year 2019 from 2018 globally, which is eventually driving the demand for specialty silicones.

Specialty Silicones Market Segment Analysis – By Geography

Asia-Pacific region held the largest share of 40% in the specialty silicones market in the year 2020. The increase in the number of activities in key-use industries such as automobile industry, textile industry, pharmaceutical industry, construction industry and others is driving the demand for specialty silicones in countries like China, India, Japan and South Korea. The pharmaceutical market turnover stood at US $ 20.03 billion (Rs. 14 Lakh Crore) in India, in the year 2019, which is eventually driving the specialty silicones market in India. Furthermore, according to International Trade Administration, the production in pharmaceuticals industry in Japan increased by 35.2% to US$84.6 million during the year 2019 from US$62.57 million in the year 2018. According to the latest report published by European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations in the year 2020, the pharmaceutical industry of China grew by 6.9% during the time period of 2014-2019. This is driving the specialty silicones market in the Asia Pacific region.

Specialty Silicones Market Drivers

Increase in the demand from medical industry

The increase in the demand for specialty silicones from the medical and healthcare industry owing to the recent global pandemic covid-19 is increasing the demand for specialty silicones as it is widely used in various medical applications such as syringes, implants, pistons, respiratory masks, catheters, tubes and others. Specialty silicones is preferred due to the various superior properties such as smoothness, softness and high resistance to wrinkle and rippling. For instance, according to MedTech Europe, in 2019, nearly 14,000 patent applications were filed with the European Patent Office (EPO) in the field of medical technology representing a 0.9% growth in patent applications compared to the previous yea4 2018. Of the total countries registering for patent with European Patent Office was 39% of European countries and 61% of other countries. This will eventually drive the demand for specialty silicones market as it is widely used in the production of various medical applications and devices. 

Increasing application in lubricants

The products of specialty silicones such as silicone greases and silicone surfactants are widely used for lubrications in various applications. The demand for specialty silicones is also increasing owing to its properties such as waterproof, resistance to extreme temperature, pressure and loads. According to International Energy Agency, Global oil demand is set to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022, rising 5.4 million barrels per day in 2021 and a further 3.1 million barrels per day next year 2022. This eventually increases the demand for silicone greases and silicone surfactants in the lubricants market, as it is a commonly used raw material in the lubricants owing to the properties and advantages offered by specialty silicones. 

Specialty Silicones Market Challenges

Harmful reactions on human skin

Specialty silicones has a bad impact on human skins, as too much of contact causes irritation, itching, rashes and pimples to the skin. In certain cases, the impact has known to cause severe breakouts and damage to the skin. This is one of the biggest challenges to the specialty silicones market as the market is aware of the ill effects of silicones on human skin. There has been many movements and awareness programmes created by various cosmetics company on silicone free products and their benefits, which acts as one of the biggest challenges to the specialty silicones market.   

Specialty Silicones Market Industry Outlook

Production expansion, investments, collaborations, partnerships, facility expansion acquisitions and mergers are some of the key strategies adopted by players in the Specialty Silicones Market. Major players in the Specialty Silicones Market are:

1. The Dow Chemical Company
2. Momentive Silicones
3. Wacker Chemie AG
4. Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd.
5. Elkem ASA
6. Evonik Industries AG
7. Sivance LLC
8. AB Specialty Silicones LLC
9. KCC Basildon Chemicals
10. Siltech Corporation Inc. among others.

Acquisitions/Technology Launches

• On 06 January 2021, Momentive Performance Materials, Inc. acquired KCC Corporation’s Silicones business which helped Momentive Performance Materials, Inc. further strengthen their global capabilities in advanced silicones, by expanding their technological capabilities and geographical footprint in the Asia Pacific region, including countries like South Korea.

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