Printed electronics market will be worth US$12bn in 2022

The printed electronics market was valued at US$3.13 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach US$12.10 billion by 2022, at a massive CAGR of 22.38% between 2016 and 2022, according to market research firm MarketsandMarkets. The most significant factor driving the market is said to be the increasing penetration of the Internet of Things (IoT), which is necessitating the demand for printed electronic products.

According to the firm’s latest report, traditional screen printing is expected to hold the major share of the technology market during the forecast period. Screen printing is the most commonly used printing technology by printed electronics manufacturers as it adds simplicity, adaptability, speed and affordability to the fabrication process; this makes screen printing technology faster and more versatile in comparison with other printing tools.

The market for inorganic substrates is meanwhile expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period, due to a large number of R&D activities currently underway in this space. The demand for inorganic substrates in new applications is also increasing, which would drive the market for them in the forecast period.

Asia–Pacific is expected to account for the largest share of the total printed electronics market in 2016, with robust manufacturing activities in countries such as China, Japan, India and South Korea boosting the demand for printed electronics systems in this region. However, the big players in the market appear to be split between the US, Europe and China, with the top 10 companies as follows:

1. ThinFilm Electronics ASA (Norway)
2. GSI Technologies (US)
3. PARC (US)
4. BASF SE (Germany)
5. EI DuPont de Nemours & Co (US)
6. NovaCentrix (US)
7. Enfucell OY (Finland)
8. Molex (US)
9. E Ink Holdings (China)
10. YD Ynvisible (Portugal)
11. T-ink (US)

The report can be found here.