The Market for Thermal Management Technologies

Report Highlights

• The world market for thermal management products will grow from about $4.1 billion in 2005 to $4.4 billion in 2006, and approach $6.7 billion by 2011.
• By 2011, medical and office electronics should have moved into third place behind telecom applications, with a 16% market share, followed by consumer electronics with an 11% share.
• The Asia-Pacific countries (except Japan) have the highest projected growth rate. By 2011, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to account for nearly a quarter of the market, pulling further ahead of Japan.

INTRODUCTION

In recent years, there has been tremendous progress both technologically and in terms of demand in electronic devices and systems. The technological progress has come mainly on two fronts: increased functionality on a single device unit and miniaturization of each unit. Both of these developments have increased the need for thermal management technology.

"Thermal management" is the term used to describe the array of problem-solving design tools and material technologies that systems manufacturers apply to regulate the unwanted heat caused by the normal functioning of an electronic system. Managing the thermal properties of a system and designing optimal solutions to modern power dissipation are the cornerstones of thermal management technology. This study covers the market for components of electronic devices and systems that aid in the dissipation of excess thermal energy.

The trend line of the thermal management industry follows the development of technology in the semiconductor, microprocessor, and computer industries. For every advance in the performance of these systems there is a corresponding increase in the operating heat generated by the system.

SCOPE OF STUDY

This report contains:

• Information about materials, hardware and software product segments, presented in terms of market size and revenue trends.
• Revenue forecasts projected for five years from 2006 to 2011.

• Application sections that forecast for the most important applications by product.

• Technology trends and competitive aspects of each product segment along with several successful suppliers' strategies in the market.

• Recent U.S. thermal management patents and pending patent applications.

• Company profiles of the leading thermal management suppliers.

METHODOLOGY

The findings and conclusions of this report are based on information gathered from a variety of sources. The primary sources of information were Internet searches and industry association data, and interviews conducted with thermal management component suppliers, custom engineering companies, and manufacturers of representative applications. In addition, other secondary sources were consulted for the report, including industry journals and publications, product literature, white papers and technical journals, and financial reports for industry suppliers.

The base year for analysis and projection is 2005. With 2005 as a baseline, market projections were developed for 2006 to 2011. These projections are based on a combination of a consensus among the primary contacts combined with our understanding of the key market drivers, and their impact from a historical and analytical perspective. The analytical methodologies used to generate the market estimates are described in detail in the market analysis. All dollar projections presented in this report are in 2002 constant dollars.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

This report is an update of an earlier (2003) report by Ravi Krishnan. Krishnan has over 14 years of professional and research experience in high technology, with a special focus on the semiconductor industry. He has worked as a high-tech strategy consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers and as an analyst with several market research firms, including BCC Research. Krishan has an MBA and a graduate degree in mass communications, both from Arizona State University, and an undergraduate degree in technology from Birla Institute of Technology & Science, India.

This update was prepared by Andrew McWilliams, a partner in the Boston-based international technology and marketing consulting firm, 43rd Parallel, LLC. McWilliams is also the author of numerous other BCC Research reports related to semiconductors and electronic products, including the following:

• GB-317 Data Storage Media: Materials, Technologies, Markets
• P-099U The Maturing ESD Market: Challenges and opportunities for the Future
• C-248 Global Markets for Lithography Chemicals
• GB-265 Semiconductor Microlithography: Materials and Markets
• G-292 Digital Image Sensing, Storage and Transfer