Flexible Hybrid Electronics Market to Reach $198.9 Million by 2024

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The flexible hybrid electronics market was valued at $82 million in 2018 and is expected to reach $198.9 million by 2024, registering a CAGR of 16.2% over the forecast period of (2019-2024).

Automotive, electronics, the Internet of Things, wearable gadgets, and other emerging chip markets are expected to provide growth opportunities for flexible hybrid electronics market, which often share manufacturing processes and materials with semiconductors.

• Hybrid electronics combine the flexibility, thinness, and lightweight nature of large-area electronics with the processing power of semiconductors, to open a broad range of new applications across different end-use applications, such as the Internet of Things, smart buildings, healthcare, product packaging, retail, and consumer electronics
• Nextflex in 2019, consisted of 90 corporate members and 28 Educational Institutes. Nextflex facilitated about 62 million of investments from 2015 to 2019, making it the biggest agency to invest in this technology.
• Additionally, the increasing demand from consumers for a novel form factor among wearable and flexible products, coupled with the growing demand from end-user segments (such as consumer electronics, automotive, and aerospace), for touch control, lighting, sensors, low-frequency wireless devices, innovative signage, photovoltaic, and flexible displays, are driving the growth of the market.
• The market however, is facing challenges with many of their suppliers of the substrate having underdeveloped technology. Players, like Evonik, 3M, and DuPont, do have products that cater to the flexible device market, but those products are not able to meet the requirements of the industry.

Key Market Trends

Automotive Segment to Drive Market Growth

• Flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) are making a significant impact in various markets, with the automotive sector providing substantial opportunities. Whether it is sensors, OLED displays, and lighting, in-mold electronics, printed heaters or other applications, hence the market is expected to witness massive opportunities for flexible electronics in the automotive industry.
• Early FHE applications are addressing Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and basic safety components which utilize FHE, to body comfort and vehicle lighting and powertrain systems aided by the FHE technology. New automotive applications in this field will enable a whole new approach for the in-cabin driving experience.
• As vehicles nowadays continue to get smarter and more electronically complex, new challenges are introduced throughout the production process. Factors in consumer preference considerations and growing safety requirements, and the need for skilled design, is further driving the market.

Asia-Pacific to Record the Fastest Growth Rate Over the Forecast Period

• Asia is emerging as a vital and essential region for the development of flexible hybrid electronics, particularly in the manufacturing of advanced semiconductor products. Most countries in Asia have a steady growth of the market, in particular, ones in East Asia (China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore).
• The advancements in the technology with R&D of thin film products and field of compact size devices has led to the growth of the FHE market. This region has the most advanced display technology, which is a driving factor for the FHE market.
• Asia-pacific region has the most advanced and proficient technical approach to design and manufacture devices for fast-growing markets including IoT, environmental sensing, wearable applications, flexible displays, and others.

Competitive Landscape

The flexible hybrid electronics market is competitive in nature, moving towards the consolidated stage as few of the players occupy a major market share. The key players operating in the market studied are innovating their products by collaborating with universities, which allows them to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. Therefore, there is always a high competition between players, to innovate and introduce new products.

• March 2019 - DuPont Electronics and Imaging announced plans to spend $220 million on expanding capacity, for its polyimide (PI) film and flexible circuit materials, sold under the respective trademarks of Kapton and Pyralux. The expanded capacity at the company's Circleville site in the US state of Ohio is expected to be operational, by 2021.
• February 2019 - Xerox acquired Vader Systems, a New York-based manufacturer of the liquid metal jet 3D printers. This acquisition is part of the company's innovations strategy, which aims to access a Total Addressable Market (TAM) of USD 8 billion, for additive/digital manufacturing.