The advanced electronics market is expected to grow at an annual rate of around 5% between now and 2030. This impressive expansion is driven not only by the emergence of specific new applications, but also by growing consumer demand. Arkema, with its innovations in materials, coatings and adhesives, is helping to push back the technological frontiers of advanced electronics. Here's how it works
This digitalization phenomenon even accelerated during and after the Covid pandemic. Digital technologies are used on an unprecedented scale, integrated into a growing number of sectors and present in every aspect of our daily lives. The sector's remarkable dynamism can be attributed to its unrivalled capacity for innovation, and the constant emergence of new-generation products.
But electronics is also essential for the energy transition and improving energy efficiency, enabling better integration and management of renewable energies and the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy sources.
In addition, rising global purchasing power and growing Internet access have made electronic devices more affordable and accessible to the general public.
This dynamic demands a sustained pace of innovation from market players, forcing them to constantly push back the boundaries of performance.
Against this backdrop, Arkema, with its expertise in advanced materials, is positioning itself as a key partner for players in the sector, in order to contribute to technological advances.
As Fabrice Domingues Dos Santos, General Manager of Electroactive Polymers at Arkema, sums up:
A variety of factors are underpinning the continued growth of the electronics market: the emergence of innovative new technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G/6G and IoE (Internet of Everything), the energy transition, energy efficiency but also the increase in average global purchasing power."
What are the challenges facing the electronics industry to remain competitive?
With exponential growth and continuous progress come major challenges:
More than ever, performance and miniaturization are top priorities. Electronic devices are becoming thinner and more compact, forcing players in the value chain to rethink their designs and develop higher-performance components. This challenge is particularly crucial for semiconductors, which perform central functions in computers, household appliances and game consoles.
Sustainability: a key challenge for the electronics industry. It is essential to balance the demand for innovative products with the need to minimize environmental impact by optimizing resource use, electronic waste management and energy consumption.
Reliability: a major challenge! Industry players must rely on robust materials and infrastructures that match their ambitions across the entire value chain. In the wake of the Covid crisis, the focus on reliability has even extended to the supply chain.
In order to offer appropriate solutions, Arkema has had to adjust its R&D lead times. The rapid cycle of innovation in electronics requires market players to be agile and adapt their processes rapidly to remain competitive.
With its expertise in high-performance materials, its extensive portfolio of solutions and its global approach to the advanced electronics value chain, Arkema stands out as a key player in the industry.
What makes Arkema a strategic partner in meeting the technological challenges of the electronics industry?
Advanced electronics is a key market for Arkema, which forecasts a 10% annual increase in sales in this sector between 2024 and 2028. Arkema has a number of strategic assets that will enable it to keep pace with the industry and meet its challenges more effectively:
- The expansion of its materials and adhesives portfolio, which reinforces its ability to anticipate market trends, enabling the creation of cutting-edge, long-lasting products with advanced properties.
This cross-functional offering is a major asset in meeting the challenges facing the industry. As Olivier Poyet, Vice President Polyimides - High Performance Polymers at Arkema, explains: "The Group's coherence is a key element in its offering. The team spirit that characterizes the collaboration between our three complementary segments - Advanced Materials, Adhesives and Coatings Solutions - is a real advantage, reinforcing our position as a trusted partner in the marketplace. Arkema is able to provide solutions across the entire value chain, from component production to final product assembly. Arkema's materials even help to optimize certain manufacturing processes, improving their precision and safety."
Anticipation is essential. By staying connected as early as possible to all players in the value chain, we can detect emerging trends, understand where we're heading and adapt to future developments in the sector."
- Close collaboration with players in the value chain, enabling us to anticipate emerging trends and adapt to changes in the sector as early as possible.
To better respond to market challenges, it is also essential to work closely with players in the value chain. These partnerships ensure alignment with industry requirements, provide a clear view of emerging trends and enable better preparation for them. This approach also broadens Arkema's expertise and enriches its portfolio of solutions. Arkema's acquisition of a 54% stake in the South Korean company PI Advanced Materials (PIAM) is a perfect illustration of this strategy.
With this acquisition, Arkema seizes a unique opportunity to remain at the forefront of innovation in advanced materials, while strengthening its offering for the electronics market. Expertise, anticipation and consistency are the cornerstones of Arkema's advanced electronics offering. These values position the Group as a reliable partner and a leading supplier of solutions to industry.
How do Arkema's innovations push back the frontiers of modern electronics?
Arkema goes beyond simply meeting market needs by paving the way for tomorrow's technological innovations. A prime example is the development of electroactive polymers.
These materials have the incredible ability to deform under the effect of an electric field and, conversely, generate electricity in response to mechanical stimuli. Their highly innovative character lies in their ability to exploit the sense of touch and their various properties, such as sensitivity to deformation and vibration.
Potential applications are numerous in the telecommunications, medical and transport sectors:
- Advanced tactile interfaces convey ultra-realistic sensations to users.
- Intelligent floors that detect movement.
- Connected textiles for biomedical data monitoring.
Electroactive polymers are also at the heart of research in the emerging field of neuromorphic electronics, which mimic the structure and function of the human brain for advanced computing.
This field, which mimics the neural structure and function of the brain for advanced computing, holds great promise for major advances in artificial intelligence, robotics and medical devices. These innovations could potentially revolutionize the way we interact with technology. Arkema is playing a leading role in the development of this market, already valued at over 20 billion euros by 2020.
As a materials supplier, the Group is at the heart of the innovation creation chain, positioning itself as a major market player and contributing to innovations that are more concrete than they seem.