Market Overview

Computers and smartphones, which are necessary for gathering information, shopping, and communicating indirectly with other people via the Internet, are indispensable in our daily lives. Digital technologies used not only in the individual field but also in the infrastructure and industrial fields have been developed from the daily studies of digital devices. Thermally conductive components embedded in such devices are also essential for technological improvement.
There are various types of thermally conductive materials. In this study, four types, namely vapor chambers, thermal gap fillers, thermal conduction sheets, and heatsinks, are targeted as the market for thermally conductive materials, and the market size based on the shipment value of manufacturers in 2023 has been calculated to be 375,811 million yen. The market is expected to continue to grow without stagnation, as thermally conductive materials are essential in electronic devices.  

Noteworthy Topics

Increase in EVs and Electrification of Vehicles Themselves Contributed to Growing Demand for Thermally Conductive Materials for Automotive Field

While demand for thermally conductive materials has not grown strongly, some of their growing applications are expected to drive demand for these materials.
In the automotive industry, the increased production of electric vehicles and the electrification of vehicles themselves are expected to expand the use of semiconductors and electronic components and, proportionately, the use of thermally conductive materials that are to be embedded in them. These materials are already in demand by automakers and their suppliers.

Decline in automotive production during the pandemic rapidly recovered in 2022, which caused a reactionary fall to suppress the automotive production in 2023 and moderated the market size of thermally conductive materials in that year. From then on, automotive production is expected to increase, resulting in stable demand for thermally conductive materials. In many cases, the adoption of these materials in new automotive components is still at the research or prototype stage, so the official adoption is likely to expand the market for thermally conductive materials.

Future Outlook

While the automotive and datacenter markets are likely to see additional adoption of thermally conductive materials, it is difficult for these materials to increase adoption in the smartphone and tablet markets, as they are somewhat oversupplied. However, as there is still a need for research and development of thermally conductive materials in conjunction with the continued improvements in the performance of smartphones and tablets, demand for technologically advanced thermally conductive materials is likely to remain in these markets.
The global market for thermally conductive materials is expected to reach 402,731 million yen in 2024, and to grow to 627,966 million yen by 2028.  

Research Outline