Stretchable Electronics Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Stretchable Electronics Market Overview

The Stretchable Electronics Market size is analyzed to grow at a CAGR of 25.3% during the forecast 2021-2026 to reach $2.98 billion by 2026. The Stretchable Electronics are the host of emerging soft and conformable electronic materials, devices and components that consist of a specific degree of mechanical stretchability and elastic circuits. Stretchable electronics is considered as the advanced form of technology that encourages breakthrough consumer products into the market The growth of the Stretchable Electronics Industry is due to the tremendous introduction of nanomaterials, electroactive polymers and nanofabrication technologies along with usage of silicone and polyurethane, which lead to the remarkable development of flexible electronics, and other significant electronic applications such as smart sensors, flexible screens, stretchable batteries transistor array, touch panel, energy harvester, LED display, health monitoring, artificial electronic skins, energy storage devices and many more. The economic growth and the rapid development of next generation electronic devices, such as Wearable electronics by the leading companies to showcase several kinds of stretch sensors, specifically designed for medical, robotic, e-textile and other application areas are further estimated to drive the market. Therefore, the rising need for high-performance consumer devices and popularity of miniature sized electronic technology, such as Micro electromechanical systems are estimated to drive the Stretchable Electronics Market.

Report Coverage

The report: “Stretchable Electronics Industry Outlook - Forecast (2021-2026)”, by IndustryARC, covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Stretchable Electronics Industry.

By Component: Electroactive Polymer, Batteries, Conductor, Photovoltaics, Integrated Circuit and Others

Key Takeaways

• Asia Pacific region is analyzed to hold the largest share of 48% in 2020 for the Stretchable Electronics Market, owing to the promising expansion of wireless communication solutions, rising government initiatives, and growing demand of wearable consumer devices and other healthcare wearables.
• The Telecommunication sectors held the largest share in 2020, and grow at a CAGR of 5.5% in the forecast period, owing to the growing demand of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), which are extremely useful to develop diversified electronic components.
• The emergence of the Soft Robotics solution, owing to the growing demand for automation across business sectors such as food processing, e-commerce, and medical is estimated to drive the Stretchable Electronics Market 

Stretchable Electronics Market Value Share, By Region, 2020

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Stretchable Electronics Market Segment – By Component

By Component, the Stretchable Electronics Market is segmented into Electroactive Polymer, Batteries, Conductor, Photovoltaics, Integrated Circuit and Others. The Electroactive Polymer held the major share of 36% in 2020, owing to the flexibility and low cost that enables them to be used as smart fabrics for a wide range of E-textile technology. In April 2021, a textiles manufacturing startup known as Nextiles, launched as a sports and performance brand with the collaboration of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to provide smart thread technology that captures biometric and biomechanics data. Nextiles leverage the application with the blend of traditional sewing techniques with printed circuit boards to develop flexible material with sensors, embedded within fabrics, particularly for sportswear. Therefore, the launch of various fabric-based sensors to advance the capabilities of several industry verticals, such as medical, fitness and automotive are accelerating the growth of the Stretchable Electronics Market. 

Stretchable Electronics Market Segment – By Industry Verticals

By Industry Verticals, the Stretchable Electronics Market is segmented into Health Care, Telecommunication, Consumer Electronics, Automotive, Textile, Aerospace & Defense and Others. The Telecommunication sectors held the largest share in 2020, and grow at a CAGR of 5.5% in the forecast period, owing to the growing demand of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), which are extremely useful to develop diversified electronic components. In March 2021, Novocomms announced the global launch of the FPCB (Flexible Printed Circuit Board Antennas) LTE 4G antenna. The FPCB LTE 4G of Novocomms is the latest addition to the British technology company’s family of patented multi-channel antennas for the Internet of Things (IoT) sector. The demand for sophisticated circuit boards to manage the increasing demand from the telecom industry is estimated to boost the Stretchable Electronics Market. 

Stretchable Electronics Market Segment – By Geography

Asia Pacific region is analyzed to hold the largest share of 48% in 2020 for the Stretchable Electronics Market, owing to the promising expansion of wireless communication solutions, rising government initiatives, and growing demand of wearable consumer devices and other healthcare wearable. Furthermore, the prominence of electronics manufacturing sectors across the region due to growing demand of wide-ranging industrial fields, such as automobiles, manufacturing units and others, is witnessed to drive the market. In November 2019, Sumitomo Corporation invested in Elephantech, a start-up and manufacturer of flexible PCBs based on inkjet and copper plating technologies. The strategic partnership is made to offer the increasing demand for smaller and thinner electronic terminals to incorporate thin and flexible printed circuit boards (PCBs). In addition, the collaboration is formed to expand Elephantech's flexible PCBs production around the world. On the other hand, North America is estimated to hold the major share of Stretchable Electronics market due to the prominent demand of wearable communication devices, popularity of bio-integrated circuits and robotic application. In September 2020, Apple Inc. launched Apple Watch Series 6 and Apple Watch SE, two iPad models. The Apple models are the first fitness experience that consists of health and wellness features to measure the oxygen saturation of blood for a better understanding of fitness and wellness. As the demand for Stretchable electronics is growing, in May 2021, Apple announced the launch of a foldable iPhone with an 8-inch flexible OLED display as early as 2023. Therefore, the developments and research of stretchable electronics components, such as polyurethanes across these regions are estimated to drive the Stretchable Electronics Market. 

Stretchable Electronics Market Drivers

Prominence of E-Textile

The growing prominence of E-Textile owing to advancement in wearable technology and introduction of conductive weavable fibers are estimated to benefit the Stretchable Electronics Market. The enormous opportunity of E-Textile solutions across healthcare, fashion, medical and wellness sectors drive the demand of the market, positively. In November 2019, Japan-based producer of electronic equipment, display equipment, and machinery parts, Fujitsu Frontech Ltd, launched a 7mm wide washable UHF RFID tag. The UHF RFID tag of Fujitsu is compact, and designed for uniforms, and other linen products for stable communication performance across industries such as transportation, logistics, hotels, linen supply, and medical institutions.  Based on the growing demand of smart textiles, in March 2020, Adidas, the German sportswear firm developed responsive apparel for athletes, which offers shields from the various weather conditions. Thus, the growing emphasis on using stretchable fibers for improved fabric performance is some of the factors that drive the growth of Stretchable Electronics Market. 

Emergence of Soft Robotics Solution

The emergence of the Soft Robotics solution, owing to the growing demand for automation across business sectors such as food processing, e-commerce, and medical is estimated to drive the Stretchable Electronics Market. The rising popularity of automated picking solutions for fragile subjects along with human safety across manufacturing units are further estimated to drive the demand of soft robotic technology. In April 2021, Soft Robotics Inc. announced the expansion of the mGrip Modular Gripping System with latest capabilities and an IP69K rating to enable safe food management of proteins and dairy products. The mGrip system of Soft Robotics Inc. is a suite of configurable gripper and controller products, launched in 2019 for denoting reliable and high-speed picking of manually hard to gather items in the food processing as well as consumer packaged goods sectors. Thus, the introduction of the robotic automation solutions and associated innovation of flexible technologies are ushering an array of opportunities for the Stretchable Electronics Market.   

Stretchable Electronics market Challenges

High Initial cost

There are several advantages of Stretchable Electronics, such as Flexible PCB technology that offers wide scale applications in the electronic sectors. However, the major concern is the high cost of manufacturing to offer enhanced performance and durability. In addition, the methods for designing flex circuits are not always effective due to difficult assembly processes, resulting in short long term performance, which is another major drawback of Stretchable Electronics components. Thus, these are the factors that are responsible for having a restraining impact on the Stretchable Electronics Market. 

Market landscape

Product launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are the key strategies adopted by players in the Stretchable Electronics Market. The Stretchable Electronics market top 10 companies include Cambrios, PowerFilm, Koninklijke Philips N.V, Apple Inc, Adidas AG, 3M Company, Oki Electric Cable Co., Ltd, Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated, Royole Corporation, BodyMedia, IDUN Technologies Ltd, Nubia,  and among others. 

Acquisitions/Technology Launches/Partnerships

• In June 2019, Oki Electric Cable Co., Ltd., an OKI Group company specializing in electric cables, launched its Stretchable Flexible Printed Circuits, "Stretchable FPC”. The Stretchable Flexible Printed Circuits is part of the new Oki Electric Cable product lineup.  
• In February 2019, Nubia announced the launch of a wearable device with flexible screen at MWC 2019, in association with China Unicom.
• In September 2020, Royole Corporation announced the global launch of the Royole FlexPai 2 smartphone. The FlexPai 2 smartphone is the successor to the world's first smartphone with a fully flexible display, with upgraded design and user experience. Royole Corporation is a leading innovator and pioneer of next-generation, human-machine interface technologies and products such as fully flexible displays, fully flexible sensors, foldable smartphones and other smart devices, which strives for new possibilities for the human-machine interface products. 

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