Home > Polymers & Advanced Materials > Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic (CFR-TP) Market
Continuous Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic Market is expected to grow between 2023 to 2032 as a result of the rising need for high-performance materials, particularly in the automobile, aerospace, defense, and energy & power industries.
Mounting consumer preference for fuel-efficient vehicles and the imposition of pollution taxes will fuel the need for lighter-weight automobiles. Efforts by numerous automotive companies to cut down production costs have driven the need for alternate raw materials. Continuous fiber-reinforced thermoplastics are basically composite materials made of premium continuous fibers, such as glass, carbon, and aramid fibers, rigged beneath the matrix of different thermoplastics, such as polycarbonates. The material offers optimal strength and stiffness as it supports the full structure in contrast to short or long fibers. However, rising manufacturing costs and raw material prices could create challenges for CFR-TP companies.
In terms of product type, the CFR-TP market is divided into categories including aramid fiber, glass fiber, carbon fiber, and others. Among these, carbon fiber is finding increasing penetration in the wind energy, marine, aerospace, infrastructure, building & construction industries, and sporting goods. The material is also widely used in the automotive sector and by manufacturers of airplanes to lighten the aircraft for increased production effectiveness. Their advantageous performance traits such as enhanced mechanical, electrical, thermal, structural, and tribological qualities, can be attributed to product adoption.
Based on application, the continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic industry size from the transportation sector will grow through 2028 as a result of high demand for lightweight automotive and the introduction of stringent environmental laws. The automobile sector makes extensive use of thermoplastics due to their high tensile strength and modulus, wear resistance, electrical conductivity, toughness, flexural strength, and creep resistance. The growing emphasis on lowering greenhouse gas emissions will amplify product use in automotive applications.
North America is anticipated to account for a sizeable portion of the continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic market due to the growing automotive sector and the presence of leading aerospace companies in the region. The material is gaining application in the making of modern aerospace and other high-end manufacturing fields. As airline firms invest in new aircraft technologies such as eVTOL, passenger aircraft, eSTOL, drones and single/remotely piloted aircraft, the application scope of CFR-TP would increase in the ensuing years.
Leading players in the global continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic market include AXIA Materials, Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd. (Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings), Lanxess, Celanese, Hexcel Corporation, SGL Group, Toray Industries, Inc., TenCate, and BASF SE. The primary marketing strategies used by these companies include boosting competitive stance and expanding their global footprint through inorganic strategic alliances like acquisitions and partnerships, along with capacity expansions and new product launches. To illustrate, in 2021, Lanxess announced the development of Tepex, a revolutionary flame-retardant thermoplastic composite material used in electric vehicles (EVs), which are intended to give strong inherent flame-retardant qualities.