Graphene market will reach 3,800 tonnes per year in 2026

Research in IDTechEx projects that the graphene market volume sales will reach nearly 3,800 tonnes per year in 2026. This forecast is at the material level and does not count the value of graphene-enabled products. In many instances, graphene is only an additive with low wt% values.
Although research predicts the continual decline in average sales prices will accompany the revenue growth because of huge amount production [ 3.8k TPA (Tonnes Per Annum), Graphene becoming increasingly available and affordable Graphene commercialisation follows a substitution strategy. This creates a long-term and severe downward price pressure. This is because even the price of the most expensive carbon that it seeks to replace (carbon nanotubes) is rapidly falling (less than $50/Kg for MWCNTs). Therefore, graphene prices must come down whilst the industry still looks for that ‘killer application’. This is already happening: some suppliers have already started quoting prices <<100$/Kg for certain types of graphene. The low single-digit capacity utilization prevents many from depreciating CapEx and reducing prices further, whilst many in the industry fear that this approach will lead to a pre-mature commoditization of the industry and a further fall in valuations across the board. These factors, together with the multiplicity of production methods, mean that prices vary by several orders of magnitude on the market today.

How IDTechEx Research predicts graphene market

Research in the report Graphene, 2D Materials, and Carbon Nanotubes: Markets, Technologies and Opportunities 2016-2026 suggest that the industry will remain in a state of overcapacity until 2021 beyond which time new capacity will need to be installed. Furthermore, IDTechEx Research forecasts that nearly 90% of the market value will go to graphene platelets (vs. sheets) in 2026.

The market will be segmented across many uses and applications, depend on the diverse properties of graphene. In general, we expect functional inks and coatings to reach the market earlier. This is a trend that we forecasted several years ago and is now observed in prototypes and small-volume applications will grow in the future.

Research predicts energy storage and composites will grow to be the largest sectors, controlling 40% and 25% of the market respectively in 2026. For more information please visit our market report Graphene, 2D Materials and Carbon Nanotubes: Markets, Technologies and Opportunities 2016-2026. You can also visit our Graphene and 2D Materials conference taking place 27-28 April 2016. This is the premier business-focused event on graphene globally.