Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCPs) is an engineering plastic known for its exceptional performance. It offers excellent properties like high strength, remarkable thermal stability, a low coefficient of thermal expansion, and effective chemical resistance. As a result, LCPs prove to be well-suited for diverse applications across various industries. Owing to their exceptional electrical properties, LCPs are most used in the electronics industry. They offer high insulation, low dielectric constant, and low dissipation factor, making them suitable material for sockets, connectors, switches, and other electronic components.
Europe accounts for around 8% of the market share in the global LCP market. Industries like semiconductors, automotive and medical are the major consumers of LCP in the region. LCPs are utilized in various applications within the semiconductor industry, including semiconductor packaging, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), wafer carriers, connectors & sockets, semiconductor test sockets, RF & microwave components, and integrated circuit packages. Due to its excellent properties like thermal stability, low moisture absorption, high dimensional stability, and ability to mold into intricate shapes and miniature make it reliable for packaging integrated circuits and other semiconductor products. LCP s offers high mechanical strength, electrical insulation, stiffness, and resistance to high temperatures that make it a ideal material for electrical connections, particularly in testing sockets, sockets and connectors, Its low thermal expansion and high dimensional stability also make LCP suitable for use as wafer carriers in the semiconductor industry.
Another significant application of LCP is in radio frequency (RF) and microwave components applications. Owing to its low dielectric loss and high frequency stability properties LCPs are well-suited for antennas, substrates, and transmission lines. With the emergence of 5G networks in the telecommunications industry, there is a growing demand for LCP in the production of 5G antennas, driving its consumption in the electrical and electronics sector. With 5G network taking its roots in telecom industries, the increasing used of 5G antennas is driving the LCP demand in electrical & electronics applications.
Europe currently accounts for around 10% of global semiconductor sales. However, Europe is planning to increase its share of semiconductor production from 10% to 30% in the span of 10 years. To support this objective, the European Union has implemented the EU Chips Act, which aims to increase semiconductor chip production in the EU. The act seeks to attract private investments of more than €43 billion to bolster the semiconductor industry in Europe by providing manufacturing tools and establishing connections between European R&D facilities and manufacturing infrastructure. With these targets and initiatives in place, the LCP demand in Europe s electrical and electronic industries is expected to experience strong growth in the coming years.
In Europe, Germany is the biggest consumer of LCPs accounting for a significant share. In the long-term forecast period, the German LCP market is projected to witness strong growth on the back of strong semiconductor, electronics, and automotive industry in the country. In the coming years several new investments have been announced that will further drive the LCP market in the country. For instance, Intel is planning to invest $82 billion into a new microchips manufacturing site in Germany over the period of next 10 to 15 years. Initially the company will invest about $18 billion facility in Magdeburg, German which will be expanded in years to come. Bosch has also invested around $1 billion at its site in Dresden, Germany. The Dresden plant is the first fully digitalized semiconductor production facility of the company equipped with 5G. GlobalFoundries, a US based chip manufacturer, is planning to invest $1 billion to increase the production capacity of 400,000 wafers to a million wafers annually to cater to the growing demand of chips from automotive, smartphone and industrial applications.
Followed by the electrical & electronic industry, automotive industry is leading consumer of LCP in Europe and further anticipated to drive the European LCP market in the long-term forecast period. LCP finds its application in intake manifolds, valve covers, sensor, clips, cover, brackets, transmission parts, fuel system components, turbocharger in EV’s, sensor housing, headlamp housing, LED modules, taillight lenses, dashboard parts, instrument clusters and switches. LCP is facing competition with more traditional materials like polyamide in automotive applications and may find limited applications due to its pricing. Germany is one of the major EV markets in Europe accounting for 17% of regional EV sales in 2021. Germany ranks third in terms of EV sales after China and United States. The country contributes about 11% to global EV sales. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the sales of purely electric cars soared by 207% between 2019-2020. The growth in sales of EVs can be attributed to the necessity to comply with stricter CO2 emission standers in the EU region, high incentives on EVs, and a broader choice of EV models.
Several OEMs and automotive manufacturers have announced the introduction of new EV models in Germany which will further encourage the use of electric vehicles in the future. In 2020, Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW were the four major plug-in electric cars sold in German as of 2020, there were around 30,000 EV charging stations in Germany. The government is planning to double it in the next three to four years and one million by 2030. The new development and advancement in automotive industry, and increase in demand for high end vehicles will further push the LCP demand in Germaany
during the forecast period.
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