Green Materials for Electrical, Electronic and Other Applications

Report Highlights

• The global market for “green” materials is estimated at $6.1 billion in 2005 and is expected to reach $8.7 billion by 2010, an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 7.4%
• PBB and PBDE replacements represent the largest share of this market, accounting for over 75% of the market driven by significant sales of metal hydrates-based resins.
• Sales of lead-free solders and solder coatings increased from 9.1% to 10.4% of the market between 2003 and 2005, with annual sales growing from $416.0 million to $632.0 million.
• Factors that will positively affect the future market expansion include rapid advances in replacement technology, successful resolution of reliability issues for certain materials categories, low cost and good availability of raw materials and increasing market penetration in developing countries.

INTRODUCTION

There are several worldwide initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of various hazardous materials (i.e., lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers) in many industrial applications to safeguard both human health and the environment.

Since deadlines for the implementation of environmental regulations are quickly approaching (for example, the European RoHS directive will go into effect on July 1, 2006), many manufacturers are required to make decisions on which replacement materials to use, while minimizing process risks and ensuring optimal product quality.

This timely BCC technical market research report evaluates the worldwide market for so called "green" materials and assesses its growth potential through 2010. Of particular interest are replacement material trends, technical issues related to their utilization, current and emerging applications, process methods and market penetration.

SCOPE OF STUDY

The report contains:

• A review of hazardous materials (specifically lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, mercury, polybrominated biphenils, and polybrominated diphenyl ether)
• An examination of related worldwide environmental initiatives and regulations
• A description of replacement materials, their properties, applications, types, and technical issues for each hazardous material
• A worldwide market analysis of the replacement materials, with forecasts to 2010 and geographic distribution
• A list of the leading manufacturers of "green" materials with a description of their products and detailed company profiles and relative market share of the top 25 players
• Analysis of industry competitiveness
• An extensive U.S. patent analysis.

METHODOLOGY

BCC Research market analysis is essentially divided into five parts.

In the first part, a review of hazardous materials (specifically lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, mercury, polybrominated biphenyls, and polybrominated diphenyl ether) is performed, followed by a review of related worldwide environmental initiatives and regulations.

The second part of the report entails a worldwide market analysis of "green" materials. For each hazardous material, a description of replacement materials, their properties, applications, types, and technical issues are provided. Industry trends and the latest technological developments, with a description of relevant patents, are also provided. For each category of replacements, BCC studies the market by type of materials and by application (such as electronics, automotive, and commercial), reporting sales data for the period 2003 through 2005 with AAGR (average annual growth rate) forecasts through 2010. Geographical distribution of sales is also discussed in this section for the same period.

In the third part, covering the worldwide industry structure, the report supplies a list of the leading manufacturers of "green" materials together with a description of their products. The analysis includes a description of the geographical distribution of materials suppliers and an evaluation of green materials production and consumption, always from a geographical standpoint. Detailed company profiles and relative market share of the top 25 players are also provided.

In part four of this study, an analysis of industry competitiveness is performed. This analysis encompasses a review of worldwide research and development activities, with profiles of the most important R&D players divided by region, and an outline of the most critical factors contributing to industry competitiveness.

The fifth and final section includes extensive U.S. patent analysis, with a summary of recent patents for each category of "green" materials. Patent analysis is performed by country, assignee, and material type.

INFORMATION SOURCES

To perform this study BCC Research analyzed 195 manufacturers of "green" materials, accounting for at least 90% of the worldwide thin film raw materials market. Data for each company were obtained by thoroughly analyzing SEC filings, Internet Web sites, annual reports, industry directories, industry magazines, government sources, and other public sources.

Additional data were obtained from the direct contribution of primary sources including: company executives, managers, engineers and other technical personnel representing manufacturers of "green" material; related process equipment; "green" devices; representatives of academics and trade associations; and various industry market analysts.

Secondary sources of information include:

• EDGAR-U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissions Filings
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• Company Web Sites
• Company Annual Reports
• Thomas Registers
• Moody's Directory
• S & P Industry Survey
• Dun & Bradstreet Business Directory
• American Ceramic Society Annual Meeting Abstract
• Foreign Chamber of Commerce Directories
• Foreign Stock Exchange Listings.

ANALYST CREDENTIALS

Margareth Gagliardi has over 20 years of experience in the field of advanced materials, specializing in ceramic formulations, materials processing, and new product development. She has held management positions in both manufacturing and R&D within the U.S. as well as at European firms producing electronic, mechanical, chemical and structural components. She holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.S. in Ceramic Engineering.