Sustainable Technologies, Players & Trends: IDTechEx

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.1. Report introduction 1.2. Overview of the composite materials market 1.3. Introduction to composite materials 1.4. Glass fiber vs Carbon fiber reinforced polymers 1.5. Thermoset vs thermoplastic composites 1.6. Composite material suppliers 1.7. Overview of manufacturing methods for composite materials 1.8. Volume of composite materials reaching end of life 1.9. Sustainable composites market drivers: Government regulation 1.10. Composite End-of-Life Pathways 1.11. Why is composite recycling traditionally challenging and limited? 1.12. Companies working to recycle end of life composites – Development stage 1.13. Overview of the types of sustainable composite materials discussed in this report 1.14. Comparison of recyclable and traditional resin systems 1.15. Recyclable resin systems – market landscape 1.16. Natural fibers offer light weighting incentives but lower mechanical strengths 1.17. Bio resins can act as drop-in replacements to traditional synthetic resins 1.18. Composites for green energy applications 1.19. Thermal resistance remains a concern for composite EV battery casings 1.20. Composites are enabling growth of the hydrogen economy 1.21. Wind turbine blade waste is set to grow significantly 1.22. The major companies developing recyclable resins for the wind turbine blade market 1.23. GFRP composites could be a promising alternative to aluminium solar frames 1.24. Tidal turbines require high durability marine-grade composites 1.25. Significant improvements to composite thermal stability are required for geothermal applications 1.26. Composite material demand for green energy forecast 1.27. Composite material revenue for green energy forecast 1.28. Outlook for sustainable composite materials 1.29. Outlook for sustainable composites continued 1.30. Outlook for composite materials for green energy 1.31. Outlook for composite materials for green energy continued 2. MARKET FORECASTS 2.1. Methodology and assumptions 2.2. Composites for green energy applications market demand 2.3. Composites for green energy applications market value 2.4. Composites for electric vehicle battery casing demand 2.5. Composites for electric vehicle battery casings revenue 2.6. Composites for FCEV hydrogen pressure vessels demand 2.7. Composites for FCEV hydrogen pressure vessels revenue 2.8. Composites for wind turbine blades demand 2.9. Composites for wind turbine blades revenue 2.10. Composite wind turbine blade waste forecast 2.11. Composites for solar panel demand 2.12. Composites for solar panel revenue 3. INTRODUCTION TO COMPOSITE MATERIALS 3.1. Overview of the composite materials market 3.2. Overview of composite materials 3.3. Why are composite materials useful? 3.4. Definition of terms used in this report (I) 3.5. Definition of terms used in this report (II) 3.6. Key factors influencing composite properties 3.7. Composite reinforcement materials 3.8. Overview of carbon fiber 3.9. Overview of glass fiber 3.10. Fiber forms (I) 3.11. Fiber forms (II) 3.12. Polymer matrix composites (PMC) and resin systems 3.13. Overview of resin systems (I) 3.14. Overview of resin systems (II) 3.15. Glass fiber vs Carbon fiber reinforced polymers 3.16. Thermoset vs thermoplastic composites 3.17. Composite material uses 3.18. Composites for green energy applications 3.19. Introduction to sustainable composites 3.20. Overview of the types of sustainable composite materials discussed in this report 3.21. Sustainable composites market drivers: Government regulation 3.22. Volume of composite materials reaching end of life 3.23. Composite End-of-Life Pathways 4. COMPOSITE MATERIALS AND MANUFACTURING 4.1. Composite materials and manufacturing routes influence end product properties 4.2. Fiber Reinforcement Properties 4.3. Cost of Fiber Reinforcements 4.4. Innovations to lower the cost and energy intensity of carbon fiber manufacturing 4.5. Types of resin systems 4.6. Materials for Composite Cores 4.7. Material suppliers 4.8. Overview of the composite manufacturing value chain 4.9. Overview of manufacturing methods for composite materials 4.10. Pre-Preg Composites – Fabric type 4.11. Hand Lay-up / Wet Lay-up 4.12. Spray Lay-up 4.13. Injection molding 4.14. Compression molding 4.15. Resin Transfer molding (RTM) 4.16. Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer molding (VARTM) 4.17. Pultrusion 4.18. Filament Winding 4.19. Autoclave Curing (Prepreg Lay-up) 4.20. Automated fiber placement – streamlining composite manufacturing 4.21. Comparison of traditional composite manufacturing methods 5. METHODS TO RECYCLE COMPOSITE COMPONENTS 5.1. Introduction to recycling composites 5.2. Why is composite recycling traditionally challenging and limited? 5.3. Desire for a circular economy 5.4. Global Composite and Solid Waste Regulations (I) 5.5. Global Composite and Solid Waste Regulations (II) 5.6. Global Composite and Solid Waste Regulations (III) 5.7. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) 5.8. Material Traceability – Implementation of digital product passports 5.9. The four types of recycling: Process definitions 5.10. Composite End-of-Life Pathways 5.11. What is mechanical recycling? 5.12. Mechanical recycling of composites – Case studies 5.13. What is Thermal Recycling – Pyrolysis? 5.14. Pyrolysis recycling of composites – Case studies 5.15. What is chemical recycling? 5.16. Chemical recycling of composites – Case studies 5.17. Companies working to recycle end of life composites – Development stage 5.18. Volume of composite materials reaching end of life 5.19. Acciona – Recycling of end-of life wind turbine blades 5.20. Cygnet Texkimp’s composite recycling technology 5.21. Vartega- Recycling carbon fiber 5.22. Composite Recycling – Thermolysis Recycling Technique 5.23. Fraunhofer’s wetlaid facility for carbon fiber processing 5.24. Anmet – Repurposing and Recycling Wind Turbine Blades 5.25. ZEBRA project – IRT Jules Verne 5.26. REFRESH project – circular recycling of composite wind turbine blades 5.27. Overview of composite recycling companies 5.28. Overview of composite recycling companies 5.29. Summary of Composite Recycling 6. RECYCLABLE COMPOSITES 6.1. Introduction to recyclable composite materials 6.2. Recyclable resin systems 6.3. Dynamic Covalent Bonds for Polymer Reprocessing – Vitrimers 6.4. Vitrimers SWOT 6.5. Thermoplastics offer inherent processability 6.6. Recyclable resin systems – market landscape 6.7. Evonik – Recyclable foam cores 6.8. Armacell – Recyclable PET foams 6.9. Aditya Birla – Recyclamine 6.10. Arkema – Elium 6.11. Westlake Epoxy – EpoVIVE 6.12. Techstorm – Vitrimer Resins 6.13. Swancor – EzCiclo 6.14. METOL – CBT/PBT 6.15. Other companies developing recyclable resins 6.16. Overview of the companies developing recyclable resin systems 6.17. Comparison of recyclable and traditional resin systems 6.18. Summary for recyclable composite materials 7. BIO-BASED COMPOSITES 7.1. Introduction to bio-composites 7.2. Challenges of using bio-composites 7.3. Natural fibers 7.4. What are natural fibers? 7.5. Global production of natural fibers 7.6. The advantages and disadvantages of natural fiber-based composites 7.7. Natural fibers require surface modifications for composite use 7.8. Benchmarking of composite fiber reinforcements 7.9. Case study: Bio-derived resins with natural fibers 7.10. Case study: Hemp fibers for bio-composites 7.11. Natural fiber consortium group 7.12. Flax-based bio-composites for automotive applications 7.13. Example Bcomp products at JEC world 7.14. Ecotechnilin 7.15. Changchun Bochao Auto Parts 7.16. Other natural fiber products 7.17. Natural fibers SWOT 7.18. Outlook for natural fibers within the green energy transition 7.19. Bio-Resin Systems 7.20. Introduction to bio-resin systems 7.21. What are bio-polymers? 7.22. Types of bio-resin systems 7.23. Bio-epoxy resin properties, application and opportunities 7.24. Bio unsaturated polyester resins 7.25. Bio PFA resins properties, application and opportunities 7.26. Bio-polyamide resins 7.27. Bio-polyurethane resin coatings 7.28. Could bio-degradable polymers be used for composites? 7.29. Improving mechanical properties of bio-composites with cellulose additives 7.30. Overview of the companies supplying bio-resins 7.31. Westlake Epoxy – EpoVIVE bio epoxy resins 7.32. Entropy Resins – Bio epoxy 7.33. Cathay Biotech – Bio polyamide resins 7.34. Arkema – Bio polyamide resin 7.35. Applied Bioplastics – Bio-based composites for construction 7.36. Case studies: Use of bio-resin systems in industry 7.37. Overview of the companies developing bio-resins for composites (I) 7.38. Overview of the companies developing bio-resins for composites (II) 7.39. Outlook for bio-resins for composites 8. APPLICATIONS FOR COMPOSITES IN GREEN ENERGY 8.1.1. Composites for green energy applications 8.2. Composites for EV batteries 8.2.1. What is an electric vehicle? 8.2.2. Overview of EV battery components and materials 8.2.3. What’s in an EV Battery Pack? 8.2.4. Major Challenges in EV Battery Design Overview 8.2.5. Methods for Materials Suppliers to Improve Sustainability for the OEM 8.2.6. Battery Pack Enclosures 8.2.7. Battery Enclosure Materials and Competition 8.2.8. Requirements for effective battery pack enclosures 8.2.9. Moving Towards Composite Enclosures 8.2.10. Are Polymer Composites Suitable Battery Housings? 8.2.11. Project for Composite EV Battery Enclosure Development 8.2.12. GFRP Enclosure for HV Battery – Envalior 8.2.13. Thermoplastic Composite Battery Packs – SABIC 8.2.14. Sheet molded compounds vs resin transfer or liquid compression molding 8.2.15. SMC for Battery Trays and Lids – LyondellBasell 8.2.16. SMC EV Battery Cover – Hankuk Carbon 8.2.17. Advanced Composites for Battery Enclosures – INEOS Composites / ALTA Performance Materials 8.2.18. Biobased Battery Pack Enclosure – Cathay Biotech 8.2.19. Composite EV battery impact protection plate – Autoneum 8.2.20. Alternatives to Phenolic Resins 8.2.21. Other composite battery enclosure suppliers 8.2.22. Examples of composite battery enclosures for EVs 8.2.23. Battery Enclosure Materials Summary 8.2.24. Energy Density Improvements with Composites 8.2.25. Cost Effectiveness of Composite Enclosures 8.2.26. Fire protection and EMI shielding for composites 8.2.27. Thermal Runaway and Fires in EVs 8.2.28. Thermal Runaway in Cell-to-pack 8.2.29. Fire protection regulations for EV batteries 8.2.30. Fire Protection Materials: Main Categories 8.2.31. EMI Shielding for Composite Enclosures 8.2.32. Integrating EMI shielding in composites – James Cropper 8.2.33. Flame resistant thermosetting composites – IDI Composites 8.2.34. Graphite Additives for Reactive Coatings – NeoGraf 8.2.35. Polymers addressing thermal runaway (1) – Ascend Performance Materials 8.2.36. Polymers addressing thermal runaway (2) – SABIC 8.2.37. Polymers addressing thermal runaway (3) – Asahi Kasei 8.2.38. Flame-retardant Plastics – Covestro 8.2.39. LG Chem – Fire Protection Plastic and Barrier Materials 8.2.40. SABIC’s Multifunctional PP STAMAX 8.2.41. Pyrophobic Systems 8.2.42. CFP Composites 8.2.43. Elven Technologies 8.2.44. Nonwoven fabric for thermal runaway protection – Asahei Kasei 8.2.45. Summary of composites for EV battery packs 8.3. Composite for Hydrogen Pressure Vessels 8.3.1. Overview of hydrogen pressure vessels 8.3.2. Compressed hydrogen storage 8.3.3. Hydrogen storage tanks 8.3.4. Stationary storage systems 8.3.5. Compressed tube trailers 8.3.6. Compressed storage vessel classification 8.3.7. Construction materials for Type 3 and 4 vessels 8.3.8. Applications for Type 3 & 4 tanks 8.3.9. Players in Type 3 & 4 technologies 8.3.10. Type 5 hydrogen storage is emerging 8.3.11. Onboard FCEV tank suppliers 8.3.12. Material & manufacturing considerations for pressure vessels 8.3.13. Composite tank failure 8.3.14. Liner materials for Type III & IV vessels 8.3.15. Composite material choice for pressure vessels 8.3.16. Fiber materials for Type III & IV vessels 8.3.17. Manufacturing composite hydrogen pressure vessels – filament winding 8.3.18. Automated fiber placement manufacturing – emerging pressure vessel manufacturing technique 8.3.19. Cryogenic composite tanks for aerospace 8.3.20. Cevotec – FPP and Filament Winding in Action 8.3.21. CONBILITY – Machine systems for hydrogen pressure vessel production 8.3.22. AZL – Hydrogen pressure vessel optimization potential in various materials 8.3.23. Summary 8.4. Composites for Wind Energy 8.4.1. Introduction to the wind energy sector 8.4.2. European wind energy market 8.4.3. APAC wind energy market 8.4.4. Americas wind energy market 8.4.5. Wind installations by country (I) 8.4.6. Wind installations by country (II) 8.4.7. China’s dominance of the wind energy sector 8.4.8. Global approach to wind turbine manufacturing by Chinese players 8.4.9. Further details on China’s global approach 8.4.10. Traditional wind turbine structure and materials 8.4.11. Traditional wind turbine blade structure and materials 8.4.12. Wind turbine blade size growth 8.4.13. Hybrid carbon/glass fiber wind turbine blades 8.4.14. Traditional methods to manufacture wind turbine blades 8.4.15. Advanced manufacturing techniques for wind turbine blades 8.4.16. Traditional wind turbine blades are inherently difficult to recycle 8.4.17. Wind turbine end-of-life management – who pays? 8.4.18. Wind farm end-of-life management – Repowering wind farms 8.4.19. Wind turbine blade waste is set to grow significantly 8.4.20. Recyclable resins for wind turbine blades overview 8.4.21. Comparison of resins for wind turbine blades 8.4.22. Wind turbine blade supply chain 8.4.23. Global wind turbine manufacturing capacity by company 8.4.24. Companies working to recycle wind turbine blades 8.4.25. RecyclableBlade – Siemens Gamesa 8.4.26. Biobased and recyclable resins for wind blades – Westlake Epoxy 8.4.27. EzCiclo recyclable resin for wind turbine blades – Swancor 8.4.28. Recyclamine recyclable thermoset resin – Aditya Birla 8.4.29. Elium thermoplastic resin for wind blades – Arkema 8.4.30. Vitrimer resins enable recyclability and high durability – Techstorm 8.4.31. Summary of the companies developing recyclable resin systems for wind turbine blades 8.4.32. Bio-based resins for the wind energy sector 8.4.33. Exploring circularity in the wind industry – Armacell 8.4.34. Traditional wind turbine blade materials at JEC World 2025 8.4.35. Balsa wood – encouraging the sustainable wood sourcing for wind turbine blades 8.4.36. Vertical axis wind turbines are better suited to urban use 8.4.37. Modular wind turbine blades – Carbo4Power 8.4.38. Summary of Sustainable Composites for Wind Turbine Blades 8.5. Other renewable energy applications 8.5.1. Overview of other renewable energy applications of composites 8.5.2. Composites for Solar Energy 8.5.3. Introduction to the solar industry 8.5.4. What is a solar panel? 8.5.5. Traditional solar panelling materials 8.5.6. Composite material use for solar energy – moving away from aluminium 8.5.7. Comparison of composite solar framing vs aluminium frames 8.5.8. Total cost of ownership by solar frame type 8.5.9. Glass fiber PU composite frames from solar panels – Covestro 8.5.10. Carbon fiber for solar energy – Levante 8.5.11. Bio-based composites for the solar energy industry 8.5.12. Summary of composites for solar energy 8.5.13. Composites for Tidal Energy 8.5.14. Introduction to tidal power 8.5.15. Types of tidal power systems 8.5.16. Pros and Cons of tidal power 8.5.17. Horizontal axis turbines are the primary turbine choice 8.5.18. Tidal turbine projects and deployments 8.5.19. Performance and design requirements for tidal turbine hydrofoils 8.5.20. Composite materials for tidal turbine blades 8.5.21. Thermoplastic tidal turbines – a recyclable resin alternative 8.5.22. Resin matrix materials – moisture and corrosion resistance 8.5.23. Summary of composites for tidal energy 8.5.24. Composites for Geothermal power 8.5.25. Introduction to Geothermal Energy 8.5.26. Geothermal energy installations globally 8.5.27. Global tectonic plates and boundaries – sources of geothermal energy 8.5.28. How does geothermal power work? 8.5.29. Comparison of the types of geothermal power plant 8.5.30. Geothermal power plant material performance requirements 8.5.31. The components for geothermal power – composite material options 8.5.32. The feasibility of all-composite geothermal well pipes 8.5.33. Huisman composite tubulars 8.5.34. Composite pipes for low-enthalpy geothermal energy – Future Pipe Industries 8.5.35. Summary of composites for geothermal energy 8.5.36. Company Profiles