Colorless Polyimide Films Market

Colorless Polyimide Films Market

The global colorless polyimide films market was valued at USD 96 million in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 1,102 million by 2027, growing at a cagr 60.0% from 2022 to 2027. The increasing demand for colorless polyimide films from applications such as flexible displays, flexible solar cells, and flexible printed circuit boards, among others, is expected to drive the colorless polyimide films market.

Attractive Opportunities in the Colorless Polyimide Films Market

e-estimated, p-projected

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Colorless Polyimide Films Market Dynamics

Driver: Increasing demand for the development of flexible displays for electronic and optoelectronic devices

In recent years, there has been significant development in flexible active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) display panels. Flexible substrates are being preferred by AMOLED display manufacturers as a replacement to hard glass as these substrates can make displays thinner, lighter, and less fragmented. In recent years, three substrates gained traction for manufacturing flexible displays, namely, ultra-thin glass, colorless polyimide films, and metal foil. Colorless polyimide films not only have optical transmittance properties similar to ultra-thin glass but also possess toughness comparable to metal foils. Hence, display manufacturers and OEMs are preferring to use these films in their products. For instance, HP’s upcoming foldable screen laptop with a screen size of 17 inches will have LG’s foldable display panel, which will be manufactured using colorless polyimide films from SK IE Technology Company. Furthermore, major phone manufacturers are in the phase of developing the next-gen of their flexible smartphone offerings such as Samsung’s Galaxy Fold, Huawei’s Mate X, and Xiaomi’s Mix Fold. Thus, the demand for polyimide films is expected to be driven by the increase in sales of these flexible electronics.

Restraints: High manufacturing cost and limited availability of monomers for synthesis

Although flexible displays are gaining traction across the globe, they are still preferred by the elite class of society owing to the high cost of manufacturing these panels. The high cost is owing to the high manufacturing cost of colorless polyimide films and the limited availability of monomers for the synthesis of colorless polyimide resin. A report by the OLED Association claims that the cost of colorless polyimide films is 2 to 5 times higher than the cost of a conventional polyimide film and around double as compared to the popular gorilla glass panels used in most commercial smartphone displays. Thus, such a high procurement cost primarily associated with the monomer used during synthesis acts as a restraint for the growth of this market.

Opportunities: Increasing use in aerospace and medical end-use industries

Although the earliest use of polyimide films in aerospace applications can be traced back to the Apollo 11 moon landing wherein conventional Kapton polyimide films were used, its demand is still gaining impetus in the aerospace industry. NASA, in September 2022, announced that its upcoming Artemis I mission will be powered by a solar sail manufactured using NeXolve’s colorless polyimide films. The sail is expected to be very thin – 40 to 100 times thinner than a piece of writing paper (about 2.5 microns).

On the other hand, as colorless polyimide films offer excellent optical quality, are lightweight, and have excellent thermal stability, they are gaining huge traction in the manufacture of medical tubing for drug delivery applications. These novel application areas could provide an excellent growth opportunity for film manufacturers operating in this market.

Challenges: Achieving product chemistry and consistency

Colorless polyimide films have garnered much attention from the optoelectronics industry due to their high heat & chemical resistance, superior mechanical properties, and excellent dielectric features. However, one of the most challenging aspects of fabricating these films is achieving an equilibrium between high-temperature stability and high optical transparency. Therefore, traditional fabricating methods of polyimide films are not optimal to generate the colorless variant. This serves as a major challenge for the market.

Increasing demand for flexible optoelectronics driving the demand for colorless polyimide films for manufacturing flexible display panels

In recent years, millennials and subsequent generations have become fond of using devices such as smartphones and laptops for sharing and consumption of data and entertainment media. In order to attract these customers, electronics manufacturers have given the freedom to designers for development of attractive designs in smartphones including flexible and high-resolution displays, color-changing back panels, and even moving camera setups, among others. Companies such as Samsung, Xiaomi, Lenovo, Motorola, and Oppo have already introduced about 2-3 generations of their flexible smartphones. Laptop manufacturers such as Asus and HP are also following suit and are developing laptops with foldable screens. Thus, as these electronics gain traction in the upcoming years, the demand for flexible displays is going to expand exponentially, further translating into the growth of the colorless polyimide films market.

Electronics end-use industry is projected to account for the largest share during the forecast period

Colorless polyimides provide excellent thermo-mechanical properties, have high chemical resistance, and are also optically transparent. These properties are suitable for manufacturing electronic components such as flexible displays and flexible printed circuit boards. With electronics companies constantly developing new products to attract potential customers, including the likes of foldable smartphones, flexible screens for laptops, and curved displays in televisions, the demand for colorless polyimides films is expected to grow during the forecast period.

Consumption of colorless polyimide films in Asia Pacific to account for the largest share during the forecast period due to the presence of numerous electronic manufacturing companies

Asia Pacific is the dominant market for colorless polyimide films. Innovation, price deflation, and rising household incomes, especially in emerging markets in the Asia Pacific, have resulted in high demand for consumer electronics products in the region. Electronics companies including Oneplus, Xiaomi, Samsung, and LG, present in Asia Pacific, are well-positioned in the field of flexible electronics and dominate their commercial applications. These companies have been at the forefront in the development of electronics with flexible design using colorless polyimide films in their components. Research capabilities of these companies have become adept due to government support in the region for the manufacturing sector. Furthermore, key companies manufacturing polyimide films primarily have their manufacturing base in  East Asian countries like China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan, which help maintain the supply-demand equilibrium.

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Colorless Polyimide Films Market Players

Key players in this market are DuPont (US), Kaneka Corporation (Japan), Kolon Industries Inc. (South Korea), SK Innovation Co., Ltd. (South Korea), and Sumitomo Chemical Company Ltd. (Japan). Other noteworthy public and private players in this market are Wuhan Imide New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. (China), Industrial Summit Technology (Japan), NeXolve Holding Company (US), Wuxi Shunxuan New Materials Co., Ltd. (China), Suzhou Kinyu Electronics Co., Ltd. (China), Changchun Gao Qi Polyimide Material Co., Ltd. (China), Zymergen Inc. (US), and Dr. Dietrich Muller GmbH (Germany). These players have expansions, and new product development as the major strategies to consolidate their position in the market.

Colorless Polyimide Films Market Report Scope

This research report categorizes the colorless polyimide films market industry based on application, end-use industry, and region.

Based on application, the colorless polyimide films market has been segmented into:

• Flexible Displays
• Flexible Solar Cells
• Flexible Printed Circuit Boards
• Lighting Equipment
• Others (Optical fibers, touch panels, reflectors & connectors for space antennas, and drug delivery tubes)

Based on end-use industry, the colorless polyimide films market industry has been segmented into:

• Electronics
• Solar Energy
• Medical
• Others (aviation and space research)

Based on the region, the colorless polyimide films market has been segmented into:

• Asia Pacific
• North America
• Europe
• Rest of the World

Recent Developments

• In the first half of 2021, Kolon Industries announced it was selected as the preferred supplier of transparent polyimide films for the cover window application in Xiaomi’s first foldable smartphone, Mi MIX FOLD.
• In November 2020, Kaneka Corporation introduced its super heat-resistant polyimide film, Pixeo-IB for application in the processing of high-speed, high-frequency 5G. The company has targeted the fast-growing technology in order to gain the first mover’s advantage in the region for this application area.
• In April 2022, SK Innovation Company Ltd. was selected to supply colorless polyimide films for Asus’ first foldable display in Zenbook 17 fold laptop. Asus is expected to manufacture 10,000 of these laptops in its first batch and is expected to further expand the supply agreement in the near future.

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