Precious Metals E-Waste Recovery Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2032

This report describes and explains the precious metals e-waste recovery market and covers 2017-2022, termed the historic period, and 2022-2027 termed the forecast period, along with further forecasts for the period 2027-2032. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global precious metals e-waste recovery market reached a value of nearly $9,773.0 million in 2022, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.1% since 2017. The market is expected to grow from $9,773.0 million in 2022 to $12,706.7 million in 2027 at a rate of 5.4%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2027 and reach $17,985.5 million in 2032.

Growth in the historic period resulted from the increased urbanization, the rapid growth in the automotive industry, rapid technological advances and the strong economic growth in emerging markets. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period were the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and transparency and supply chain management issues.

Going forward, improvements in plant efficiency, the increasing growth of the aerospace sector, the growing automotive market and the growing investment in infrastructure will drive the growth. Factors that could hinder the growth of the precious metals e-waste recovery market in the future include the Russia-Ukraine conflict impact.

The precious metals e-waste recovery market is segmented by type into gold, copper, silver and other types. The gold market was the largest segment of the precious metals e-waste recovery market segmented by type, accounting for 65.6% of the total in 2022. Going forward, the copper segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the precious metals e-waste recovery market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 6.3% during 2022-2027.

The precious metals e-waste recovery market is segmented by source into home appliances, consumer electronics, IT and telecommunication equipment and other sources. The consumer electronics market was the largest segment of the precious metals e-waste recovery market segmented by source, accounting for 45.4% of the total in 2022. Going forward, the household appliances segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the precious metals e-waste recovery market segmented by source, at a CAGR of 5.7% during 2022-2027.

The precious metals e-waste recovery market is segmented by application into trashed and recycled. The trashed market was the largest segment of the precious metals e-waste recovery market segmented by application, accounting for 76.9% of the total in 2022. Going forward, the recycled segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the precious metals e-waste recovery market segmented by application, at a CAGR of 6.8% during 2022-2027.

Asia Pacific was the largest region in the precious metals e-waste recovery market, accounting for 46.4% of the total in 2022. It was followed by North America, Western Europe and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the precious metals e-waste recovery market will be Asia Pacific and Western Europe where growth will be at CAGRs of 6.2% and 5.6% respectively. These will be followed by Eastern Europe and North America where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 5.0% and 4.4% respectively.

The global precious metals e-waste recovery market is concentrated, with a small number of large players in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up to 41.04% of the total market in 2021. The market concentration can be attributed to the high barriers to entry, in terms of high costs and the stringent regulations set up by the regulatory authorities. Heraeus Holding was the largest competitor with 10.63% of the market, followed by umicore with 9.82%, Boliden Group with 8.41%, Johnson Matthey with 5.05%, Dowa Holdings with 2.45%, Sims Limited with 2.40%, Materion Corporation with 1.22%, TES-AMM Pet Ltd with 0.69%, Sabin Metal Corporation with 0.21% and Metallix with 0.15%.

The top opportunities in the precious metals e-waste recovery market segmented by type will arise in the gold segment, which will gain $1,819.0 million of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the precious metals e-waste recovery market segmented by source will arise in the consumer electronics segment, which will gain $1,338.4 million of global annual sales by 2027. The top opportunities in the precious metals e-waste recovery market segmented by application will arise in the trashed segment, which will gain $2,057.7 million of global annual sales by 2027. The precious metals e-waste recovery market size will gain the most in the USA at $358.4 million.

Market-trend-based strategies for the precious metals e-waste recovery market include focus on integration of hydrometallurgical extraction, development of electrowinning technology, increasing adoption of pyrometallurgical extraction, product innovations and increasing use of biotechnological methods.

Player-adopted strategies in the precious metals e-waste recovery market include enhancing business operations through strategic investments, strengthening operational capabilities through strategic collaborations and partnerships, enhancing business capabilities through business expansions and strengthening business operations through business expansions.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the publisher recommends the precious metals e-waste recovery companies to focus on integration of hydrometallurgical extraction, focus on development of electrowinning technology, focus on increasing adoption of pyrometallurgical extraction, focus on product innovations, focus on increasing use of biotechnological methods, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic partnerships and collaborations, offer value-based pricing, provide competitively priced offerings, increase adoption of internet and social media, continue to use B2B promotions, focus on educating people on smart use of electricity, and focus on the urban population.