The Flint Glass market size is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 3.4% during 2022-2027. Flint glass is an optical glass that possesses a high refractive index and low Abbe number. It is a hard and bright glass containing lead oxides and is a combination of silicon dioxide with lead or potassium. The market for flint glass is growing, due to its usage as an optical glass in various end-use industries such as solar power and electrical and electronics industries. This industry utilizes flint glass in consumer electronics such as TV and smartphones, owing to its high refractive lead-containing glass. Moreover, the increasing requirement for flint glass in medical and healthcare, solar power and other industries is anticipated to upsurge the demand for flint glass in the forecast period. The global economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a huge drop in demand for automobiles, consumer electronics and other applications all across the world, which had a significant impact on the growth of the flint glass market size.
Report Coverage
The “Flint Glass Market Report – Forecast (2022 - 2027)” by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments in the Flint Glass industry.
Key Takeaways
- The Asia-Pacific region dominates the Flint Glass market size owing to the rising growth of the automotive industry. For instance, according to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA), the total automobile production in India reached 43,99,112 units in 2021, an incline of 30% from 33,94,446 units in 2020.
- Rapidly rising demand for flint glass in the electrical and electronics industry for consumer electronics has driven the growth of the flint glass market.
- The increasing demand for flint glass in the medical & healthcare sector, due to its usage for providing a clear view, by protecting medical diagnostic imaging windows, has been a critical factor driving the growth of the flint glass market in the upcoming years.
- However, the poor thermal conductivity of flint glass can hinder the growth of the flint glass industry.
Flint Glass Market Segment Analysis – by Application
The lighting segment held the largest portion of the Flint Glass market share in 2021 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 3.2% during the forecast period 2022-2027. Flint glass is required by light-emitting diodes to improve their quality, efficiency and visual comfort, which allows them to function. The shell of the light bulb is made up of flint glass and in bulbs, tube lights and other lightings, flint glass reduces light loss due to the reflections at the interfaces between the interior portion and the shell and between the shell and the exterior part. The government investment in lighting is increasing, for instance, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, in 2020, the government invested in lighting R&D opportunities, for more efficient delivery of light with the optimum optical distribution and to protect from glare by bright light sources. This optical glass is composed of lead oxides and silicon dioxide and absorbs ultraviolet radiation and fluoresce that reradiates the energy as visible light, therefore, is used in lighting. Thus, with the growing demand for lighting and increasing government investment in it, the market for flint glass will further rise over the forecast period.
Flint Glass Market Segment Analysis – by End-Use Industry
The electrical and electronics industry held the largest portion of the Flint Glass market share in 2021 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 3.8% during the forecast period 2022-2027. Increasing adoption of flint glass for consumer electronics, such as tablets, laptops, TVs and smartphones, is estimated to grow the market size. For instance, according to the India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), India had approximately 500 million smartphone users in 2019 and this number is growing steadily to reach over 800 million in 2022. Moreover, the electrical and electronics industry is growing, for instance, according to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), the Indian electronics manufacturing industry is projected to reach US$520 billion by 2025. Thus, the growing electrical and electronics industry will require more flint glasses, which will drive the flint glass market growth during the forecast period.
Flint Glass Market Segment Analysis – by Geography
The Asia-Pacific region dominated the Flint Glass market share with a share of 42% in 2021 and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 4.2% during the forecast period 2022-2027. APAC region is one of the leading flint glass manufacturers, with China and India being the key consumers and suppliers of flint glass. The flint glass is used in electrical and electronics, medical & healthcare, solar power, automotive, consumer goods and other end-use industries. The rising growth of the electrical and electronics industry has uplifted the development of the flint glass market. For instance, according to the IPC Economic outlook December 2021, the electronics industry, which includes categories such as components, loaded boards, computers, communication equipment and consumer electronics is being increased by 2.6% in November 2021. The electrical and electronic sector sales have increased by 30.6% as compared to 2019 and 12.8% in 2019-2021. Additionally, according to Invest India, the global electronics market is estimated to be over US$2 trillion in 2019 and India’s share in global electronics manufacturing has increased from 1.3% in 2012 to 3.6% in 2019. Moreover, the electronics manufacturing industry is estimated to reach US$300 billion in revenue by 2025-2026 and the electronics market is estimated to reach US$400 billion by 2025. Therefore, the growing electrical and electronic manufacturing will increase the demand for flint glass during the forecast period, which will drive the flint glass market growth.
Flint Glass Market Drivers
Growing Medical and Healthcare Sector
In the medical & healthcare sector, flint glass is utilized to provide a clear view, by protecting medical diagnostic imaging windows against radiation. Bright light is used on the surgical area with the help of flint glass in non-instructive surgical procedures such as endoscopy, where optical communication plays an important role. The medical & healthcare industry is growing, for instance, in China, by 2030, the size of the healthcare industry is expected to reach 16 trillion RMB (US$ 2.3 Million), according to the staff research report on the "US-China Economic and Security Review Commission." Moreover, according to the International Trade Administration (ITA), the total local production of medical devices in Australia rose from US$1,495 million in 2020 to an estimated US$1,539 million in 2021. The market size is forecasted to grow in 2021 as compared to the previous year. Thus, the growing medical & healthcare industry is anticipated to drive the growth of the flint glass market over the forecast period.
Increasing Automotive Industry
In the automotive industry, flint glass is used for in-vehicle camera lenses and for optical sensors, to keep an eye on the surroundings of a car and for responding in time. The automotive industry is growing, for instance, according to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA), in Austria, motor vehicle production increased from 86,300 units in 2020 to 92,000 units in the year 2021. Similarly, in the USA, the production of motor vehicles increased from 62,39,401 units in 2020 to 68,57,182 units in the year 2021. Additionally, according to the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (OICA), the total automobile production in Brazil including cars and commercial vehicles reached 22,48,253 units in 2021, an increase of 12% in comparison to 2020. With the increasing production of automobiles, it is estimated that in the upcoming years the requirement for flint glass in the automotive industry will rise. This will boost the growth of the market in the automotive sector.
Flint Glass Market Challenges
Poor Thermal Conductivity of Flint Glass
There are various good characteristics of flint glasses, however, they exhibit poor thermal conductivity. Due to the poor thermal conductivity, its deformation is easy, since its softening temperature is low. Therefore, the optical property is impacted by low thermal conductivity. Flint glass provides superior transparency of heat; hence, it is necessary that it should balance with its relatively low energy saving. Moreover, due to low thermal conductivity, it needs high energy consumption during the production process. Thus, due to the poor thermal conductivity, the growth of the flint glass market will be hindered during the forecast period.
Flint Glass Industry Outlook
Technology launches, acquisitions and R&D activities are key strategies players adopt in the Flint Glass market. The top 10 companies in the Flint Glass market are:
- Schott Glaswerke AG
- Ohara Corporation
- Hoya Corporation
- CDGM glass company
- Edmund Optics
- Nikon Corporation
- Crytran Ltd.
- Corning
- OAG Werk Optik
- Precision Optical Inc.
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