Technical Glass Consumption to Surpass 15,000 KT in 2019

A recently released intelligence outlook by Persistence Market Research forecasts that the global revenue through sales of technical glass will reach the peak of year on year growth in 2019.

• Expanding at a robust rate, the global revenue through sales of technical glass will exceed US$ 26 Bn in 2019.

• The total consumption volume will reach beyond 15,000 KT the same year.

“A visible paradigm shift to green building technology, coupled with government initiated regulations regarding the new construction of energy-efficient buildings and sustainable renovation of existing infrastructure, is providing a robust push to the sales of technical glass,” explains a senior research analyst at the company.

Borosilicate to Discover Higher Applicability

• Alkali-lead silicate glass is currently holding around a third of the total market value, whereas soda-lime accounts for over 35% share in the total market revenue.

• The report projects soda-lime glass type, the most economical and preferred raw material, to gradually lose its market value share to the rapidly popularizing alkali-lead silicate glass owing to superior attributes of the latter.

• Borosilicate glass type is also an important material segment, especially for technical and pharmaceutical applications, that has been projected for the highest year over year revenue growth of more than 8.5% in 2019.

Thin Glass Sales to Buckle up

• By the form of technical glass, flat glass has been the top selling type worldwide, especially owing to substantial consumption by the pharmaceutical industry.

• Attributed to escalating preference for flat glass in solar panels and touch panels, it remains the largest shareholder by form in technical glass landscape. Glass powder, and tubes & rods are identified to be the next important segments by form in terms of sales.

• However, PMR indicates a huge incremental opportunity for thin film crystalline glass over the course of coming years. The brisk uptake in energy storage systems and solar panels operating on battery is likely to create a slew of business opportunities for thin glass manufacturers.

Consumer Electronics Continue to Host the Goldmine

• With more than 40% share of the total market revenue at present, consumer electronics lead the pack of end use industries associated with technical glass landscape.

• Widening adoption of technical glass as a primary raw material for display applications such as LED, OLED, and LCD enables the consumer electronics sector to secure the top consumer position in technical glass space.

• Pharmaceuticals and laboratories also register significant consumption of technical glass, as reported by research, followed by the architectural design segment. The latter has been thriving at a faster pace in recent years, estimated for a just-under 9% year on year revenue growth to be achieved in 2019.

China Remains Top Ranker in Regional Growth Bandwagon

• With around 40% market value share at present, Chinese market is witnessing the most prominent boost to growth by soaring sales of borosilicate and soda-lime glass, which are cumulatively holding more than 70% share of the region’s market.

• The mature market in China is however poised for around 10% yearly revenue growth in 2019, backed by a massive incremental opportunity.

• APEJC’s market for technical glass is reportedly projected for attractive growth avenues in the near future. Whereas, MEA and Latin America remain the high growth-low volume regional markets for technical glass sales.

“As worldwide investors are looking up to the large-scale renewable energy production sector, solar is clearly the fastest growing clean energy technology alternative over others. China currently is a significant market for investors and providers of solar energy solutions, making the country a highly attractive territory for solar panel manufacturers and thereby, technical glass makers,” says the analyst.