Smart polymers are also known as stimuli-responsive products. These products are characterized by unique performance aspects such as good responsiveness to micro and macro-level changes in the surroundings.
Also, these innovative materials respond to various stimuli such as pH, temperature, and light. Moreover, they are also resilient, which gives them the ability to return to their initial physical or chemical state. In addition, the rise in demand for smart material-based actuators and sensors from the automotive industry at low cost with superior performance and high reliability drives smart polymers' demand.
The increasing consumption of smart polymers in biomedical applications is expected to drive market growth during the forecast period due to interest in the product steadily gaining momentum, especially in self-regulated and controlled drug delivery fields.
Moreover, the increasing awareness about environment-compatible product usage for long-term sustainability across the various sector, including automotive, textile, electronics, biotechnology, is expected to boost the smart polymers' market growth.
In addition, smart polymers register a wide range of unique applications in the healthcare industry. This includes medical devices, tissue engineering, gene therapy, medicine, drug delivery systems, pharmaceuticals, and others. In addition, the health care industry in the U.S. places a priority on the areas of medical technology, research, and innovation. The U.S. has generated a revenue of USD 2610 billion in 2020 in the healthcare industry.
Furthermore, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic across the globe has led to an increase in demand for biomedical devices and products such as ventilators and face masks to stop the transmission of coronavirus and treat the afflicted patients.
In addition, smart polymers are also utilized in the manufacturing of biomedical devices such as artificial teeth, artificial bones, pacemakers, hip, and knee replacements, and dental implants as smart polymers are biocompatible can help achieve the long-term service of these medical devices, which is expected to drive the smart polymer market growth.
However, factors such as the high cost of smart polymers compared to conventional polymers are expected to hinder the smart polymers market's growth. Moreover, the rise in the development of the healthcare sector has led to an increase in demand for smart polymers as these polymers are biocompatible and can help achieve medical devices' long-term service life. This is expected to provide profitable opportunities for the smart polymers market growth during the forecast period.
Smart polymers' global market value is forecast to grow by more than double from 2019 to 2027. In 2019, smart polymers had a global market value amounting to USD 3.8 billion and are expected to grow nearly USD 9.8 billion in 2027.
North America dominates the largest share in the global smart polymers market and is expected to dominate during the forecast period due to increasing demand in the sector such as healthcare and electronic industry.
Moreover, growing demand from the military & defense for camouflage & light-sensitive fabric processing coupled with the rising healthcare sector will drive the smart polymers market demand during the forecast period. European countries, especially Germany and France, are likely to show exponential growth prospects for the smart polymers market on account of stringent government regulations pertaining to the environment & usage of traditional polymers and the rise in research & development initiatives nanomedicines sector.
Competitive Landscape
The smart polymers market is fragmented with the presence of regional and global players. The competitive contour lies with the increase in the regional company and growing investment in upstream application. BASF SE, Lubrizol, Dow Chemical, Evonik, AkzoNobel, Advanced Polymer Materials, Akina Inc., SMP Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Reactive Surfaces Ltd., NEI Corporation, FMC Corporation, Huntsman Corporation are the major player in the polymer market.
The major players adopt several growth strategies such as product launches, acquisitions, and collaborations, contributing to growing the smart polymers market globally.
