Roll to Roll Flexible Electronics Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Roll to Roll Printing market is expected to register a CAGR of 13% over the forecast period 2021 - 2026. Factors such as low cost and high throughput are the major differences of this printing technique from conventional printing such as batch processing which involves multiple steps.

Key Highlights

• Roll to Roll printing is used in creating electronics devices on a roll of flexible plastic or metal foil. As the the demand for these products increase, manufacturers are trying to adopt roll to roll printing to increase their production capacity.
• Further, the increased use of flexible electronics in healthcare and other related applications is expected to create a positive impact on this market.
• The Horizon 2020 Necomada project, which involved a consortium of 13 industry partners, has improved market accessibility by developing conductive inks and flexible adhesives that enable high-speed roll-to-roll manufacture of flexible electronics.

Key Market Trends

North America to be a Substantial Market

• The North American region is expected to have a significant market share due to the increase in the demand for flexible electronics which uses Roll-to-Roll printing is expected to drive the market in the region.
• The United States, along with other regions like Europe has been keen on Roll-to-Roll (R2R) technologies for a long time now, with flexible electronics as a focus. Europe for instance, over the last 10 years, has had significant investments in R2R 660 manufacturing and related printing plate-to-plate for displays and 661 RFIDs.
• The U.S. federal government has also been promoting the development of the region's capabilities in flexible electronics through numerous institutional channels in the defense, civilian among others.
• With the launch of foldable smartphones in 2019, the demand for flexible OLED displays is also expected to increase. The US being looked at as a potential market for such flexible eletronics, the need for the number of manufacturers adopting the roll to roll printing technique is expected to increase further.

Automotive Segment to Drive the Market Growth

• Roll to Roll Printing can be used in manufacturing flexible electronics which are making a significant impact in various markets, with the automotive sector providing substantial opportunities.
• Whether it is sensors, OLED displays, and lighting, in-mold electronics, printed heaters or other applications, the market is expected to witness massive opportunities in the automotive industry.
• As vehicles continue to get smarter and more electronically sophisticated, new challenges are introduced throughout the production process. Factors in consumer preference considerations and growing safety requirements, and the need for faster and efficient means of manufacturing of these flexible electronics is likely to impact the market positively.

Competitive Landscape

The Roll to Roll Printing market is fairly fragmented and competitive due to the presence of international vendors. Some of the key players of this market are Nissha GSI Technologies, Inc., 3M Co, LG Display Co., Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., among others.

• In December 2018, E Ink unveiled one of its writing technology platforms, JustWrite film, which delivers a natural writing experience without the use of a TFT backplane. The film can be produced via roll to roll manufacturing typical of E Ink’s electronic paper, and requires only a writing stylus and simple electronics to enable functionality.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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