Global Conductive Inks Market: The consumer preference for small and lightweight electronics has increased the demand for miniaturization of products in the consumer electronics industry.

The global Conductive inks market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.1 %, by value, during the forecast period. The market is estimated to be USD 3.0 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 3.7 billion by 2027. The growth of the conductive inks market can be attributed to the increasing usage of conductive inks in the electronic industry location. Governments worldwide have imposed environmental regulations to encourage industries for reducing the amount of heavy materials used in any device by replacing them with lightweight advanced materials. Along with this factor, the consumer preference for small and lightweight electronics has increased the demand for miniaturization of products in the consumer electronics industry.

Conductive inks are produced either by incorporating different types of metals such as silver and copper or by using carbon particles. Carbon particles are preferred in many applications as they offer adequate technical properties at a low cost. In comparison to other metals, carbon inks have relatively less and unreliable conductivity. While using carbon particles, direct conductivity can only be achieved through curing, but this is a complicated and expensive process.

The major factor acting as a restraint for the conductive inks market growth is the lack of chemical compatibility with most of the polymers, which is necessary to provide mechanical endurance. In addition, there is a need to develop technologies that can impart long-term stability of conductive inks for commercial purposes. This issue is mainly faced with nano-particle inks, as the technologies required for its use are expensive. Emerging applications have increased the need for optimizing the use of conductive inks in specialized printing processes.

Despite these shortcomings, the increased focus on innovation and R&D activities is expected to provide cost-efficient and reliable technologies for conductive inks in the future.
Conductive inks are mainly made by using materials such as silver, copper, and carbon. Silver is highly conductive, but expensive, whereas copper is cheaper, but is more prone to oxidation. On the other hand, graphene is a beneficial alternative for these materials and can deliver the same properties at much cheaper rates. Graphene-based conductive inks can readily compete with silver-based and carbon-based conductive inks in applications such as displays and RFID antennae

Some of the key players operating in the conductive inks market are DowDuPont (US), Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Germany), Heraeus Holding GmbH (Germany), Johnson Matthey (UK), Poly-Ink (France), Sun Chemical Corporation (US), NovaCentrix (US), Creative Materials Inc. (US), Applied Ink Solutions (US), and Vorbeck Materials (US). Competition among these players is high, and they mostly compete with each other on prices and quality of their products and product customization. The growth of the end-use segments of the conductive inks market is likely to encourage the manufactures to provide better products and technologies to their customers and explore the untapped markets.

APAC is estimated to be the leading conductive inks market. The growth in the APAC region can be attributed to the growing demand for conductive inks due to high economic growth of the emerging economies and the increasing disposable income in the region contribute to APAC being an attractive market for conductive inks manufacturers. Moreover, the tremendous growth of the photovoltaic’s, PCBs, touch screen segments and the increasing use of windshield sensors in vehicles are primarily responsible for the high demand for conductive inks in the region.