Smart Materials: Technologies and Global Markets

Additional Information

INTRODUCTION

STUDY BACKGROUND

“Smart” materials are a class of materials that respond dynamically to electrical, thermal, chemical, magnetic, or other stimuli from the environment. These materials are incorporated in a growing range of products, enabling these products to alter their characteristics or otherwise respond to external stimuli.

This report is an update of an earlier BCC research report published in 2005. Since then, the range of smart materials technologies and applications has continued to grow.

STUDY GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

BCC’s goal in publishing this updated report is to assess the impact of these developments on global markets for smart materials and related applications. Objectives of both the original and the updated studies include:

• Identifying and describing the principal types of smart materials
• Analyzing and predicting trends in the most likely application(s) for each of these materials, as the basis for developing baseline estimates of the market for each type of smart material
• Pinpointing new materials and applications that are likely to be introduced in the next 5 years and their expected market impacts
• Drawing attention to manufacturers of smart materials and smart material-based products that are most likely to benefit from the trends identified above.

ASIA-PACIFIC INTENDED AUDIENCE

This report is intended especially for developers and vendors of smart materials and applications seeking to understand the market for their products. Other readers who will find the report’s findings and conclusions informative include members of technical and professional organizations such as ASM (the former American Society for Metals) and the general technology interest community, including journalists and officials of government technology initiatives such as the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative.

SCOPE OF REPORT

The scope of this includes all major categories of smart materials, i.e.:

• Piezoelectric materials
• Electrostrictive materials
• Magnetostrictive materials
• Shape memory materials
• Smart fluids
• Smart hydrogels
• Electrochromic materials
• Phase change materials

The report analyzes the principal applications for each type of smart material (including commercial, industrial, medical, research and military applications) and estimates the current and projected worldwide market for each type of smart material and application through 2016.

The report format includes the following major elements:

• Executive summary
• Definitions
• Milestones in the development of smart materials
• Types of smart materials, their properties, technologies, and markets
• Smart material applications, end-users and markets
• Company profiles
• Patent analysis

METHODOLOGY AND INFORMATION SOURCES

Both primary and secondary research methodologies were used in preparing this report. The findings and conclusions of this report are based on information gathered from industry sources such as smart material suppliers and users and other knowledgeable sources. Interview data were combined with information gathered through an extensive review of secondary sources such as trade publications, trade associations, company literature, and on-line databases to produce the baseline market estimates contained in this report.

The base-year for analysis and projection is 2010. With 2010 as a baseline, market projections were developed for 2011 through 2016. 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 specific analytical methodologies and assumptions used to develop this report’s market projections are described in detail under the relevant product and application market headings. All revenue figures are in current dollars, unadjusted for inflation.