超薄型ガラス市場戦略、トッププレーヤー、成長機会、分析、2028年までの予測

Asia-Pacific is estimated to register the fastest CAGR in the market over the forecast period. The rising demand for LED and OLED televisions is boosting the market growth across the region. Manufacturers of flat panel displays in China, South Korea, and Taiwan are dominating the global marketplace in terms of production and supply of flat panel displays. These displays can be found in cars, industrial equipment, personal computers, smartphones, and a variety of other goods. Liquid crystal displays are used in the majority of TV screens (LCDs). Other display types used in televisions include organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and quantum dots. LCDs and OLEDs are used in smartphone displays. Thus, the high concentration of flat panel display manufacturers in Asia-Pacific, coupled with the high utilization of ultra-thin glass in designing flat panel displays, is the crucial factor anticipated to further drive the market in the coming years. Furthermore, the growing application of ultra-thin glass by automobile manufacturers in China, India, and South Korea is driving the market. China, as one of the significant producers of automobiles, has a high need for ultra-thin glass for use in various automotive interior panels. Furthermore, the existence of significant players such as AGC Inc. and Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd is projected to fuel the market expansion.

Based on end use, consumer electronics segment led the global ultra-thin glass market during the forecasted period. Consumer electronics is one of the prominent end-use industries contributing a major share in the growth of the ultra-thin glass market. Ultra-thin glass is widely used to manufacture electronic goods such as flat panel display devices, smartphones, wearable devices, and touch screen devices. It is extremely thin and flexible. Therefore, it is ideal for devices with wider displays and touch screen features. Moreover, it is used in microprocessors of smartphones as a substrate. Using ultra-thin glass in semiconductor substrates ensures the increased performance of microprocessors, which enables high data transfer rates. The growing utilization of ultra-thin glass in consumer electronic devices is expected to boost the market growth. Moreover, the rising demand for electronic gadgets such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, and televisions in emerging economies, owing to rise in disposable income, significant economic development, increase in adoption of emerging technologies, and improved lifestyles of people, is expected to boost the growth of global ultra-thin glass market in the coming years. Manufacturers of ultra-thin glass are focusing on launching innovative products. Recently, foldable ultra-thin glass was developed by Schott AG which is a Germany-based manufacturer of specialty glass products. This foldable glass was used by Samsung in its Z-fold 3 smartphone which is gaining huge popularity among people worldwide. Such innovations by the prominent manufactures of ultra-thin glass are expected to boost the consumer electronics segment’s growth.

On the basis of manufacturing process, fusion segment is leading the ultra-thin glass market during the forecast period. The fusion process, often known as the overflow downdraw method, is widely used to manufacture flat ultra-thin glass for display panels. Corning was the first company to create specialized glass that was suspended in mid-air, which is a key trait of the fusion method. Glass is not contacted by molten metal, which is a fundamental advantage of the fusion method over the float glass method. The raw materials, including pure sand and other inorganic elements, are fed into a massive melting tank that is heated to temperatures beyond 1000⁰ Celsius. The molten glass is homogenized and conditioned before being discharged into an isopipe, a huge collection trough with a V-shaped bottom. The isopipe is carefully heated to ensure optimum viscosity of the mixture and consistent flow. The molten glass flows uniformly over the isopipe's top edges, generating two thin, sheet-like streams along the outer surfaces. The two sheets meet at the bottom of the isopipe and are fused into a single glass sheet. As the sheet lengthens and cools in mid-air, it feeds into drawing equipment while still linked to the bottom of the isopipe. With precise control of the fusion glass process parameters, thinner glass panels can be produced. Commercial manufacturers such as Corning, Schott, AGC, and Nippon Electric Glass use the drawdown or fusion process for producing ultra-thin glass.

Based on application, flat-panel display segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR from 2021 to 2028. Flat panel displays are video devices that replace the conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) with a thin panel design. Ultra-thin glass is widely used to manufacture flat panel displays such as LCD, LED, OLED screens, smartphone displays, and monitor screens. Moreover, ultra-thin glass is used in the touch module of touch screen devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. It provides fundamental functions for flat-panel display and touch screen devices such as high definition (HD) display, touch-control and scratch resistance, and protection to the screens. Consumer electronic goods are being upgraded at a faster rate as the technological landscape is changing rapidly. Panel display components used in flat-panel display and touch-control devices have emerged as the most important downstream application products for ultra-thin glass substrates with the highest market demand. The need for ultra-thin glass substrate is predicted to rise since it is a crucial component and key fundamental material for flat-panel display and touch-control systems. Moreover, ultra-thin glass substrates are non-substitutable and have a promising future as the entire electronic device market develops.

The major players operating in the ultra-thin glass market are Corning Incorporated; AGC Inc.; Nippon Electric Glass Co., Ltd.; SCHOTT AG; Central Glass Co., Ltd.; CSG Holding Co., Ltd.; Emerge Glass; Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd; Xinyi Glass Holdings Limited; and Luoyang Glass Co., Ltd.

In 2020, Asia Pacific held the largest revenue share of the global ultra-thin glass market and is also expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The ultra-thin glass market across the region is projected to witness remarkable growth, owing to the rapidly expanding consumer electronics industry in countries such as China, Japan, and South Korea. China is one of the largest consumer electronics markets across the world, along with Japan and South Korea. Due to the high concentration of consumer electronics manufacturers in Asia-Pacific, the demand for ultra-thin glass from the manufacturers of electronic goods across the region is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period. Moreover, China and Japan are the leading exporters of semiconductor components used in electronic gadgets. Many leading manufacturers of smartphones and electronic gadgets heavily rely on Asia-Pacific countries for sourcing semiconductor components. For chip packing and interposer applications, the semiconductor industry is progressively designing products using thin glass substrates. When organic substrate materials are employed, the locally generated heat of the small core parts of mobile devices causes deflection and reliability issues. Ultra-thin glass has excellent dimensional stability over a wide range of temperatures while also providing the foundation for an exceedingly flat chip package. Thus, the increasing utilization of ultra-thin glass for designing electronic goods across the region is projected to potentially drive the market over the forecast period.