The High Purity Boron Market
The global high purity boron market will experience strong growth in the coming years. This is mainly due to the increasing demand for boron-based products across various industries, including electronics, semiconductors, and in the automotive sector.
Boron market
High Purity Boron Market Outlook
According to Fact.MR, the global high purity boron market is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 3.5% from USD1057.4 million to USD1498.7 million in the coming ten year – 2022-2032, compared to a 2.2% CAGR between 2017 and 2021, driven by the increasing demand for boron-based chemicals and materials in various end-use industries.
Boron is a crucial element in manufacturing a wide range of products, including glass, ceramics, detergents, agriculture chemicals, and electronics. The growing demand for these products is expected to fuel the growth of the high purity boron market over the next decade, which accounts for approximately 42% of the total boron market (North America accounts for 35.1% of the boron market share in 2022).
Boron Market Outlook
High purity boron is more expensive than regular boron and is usually sold as a powder. However, the expanding scope of its applications, is likely to impact the market’s growth. High purity boron also produces borides which are used in the pharmaceutical and ceramic industries.
High purity boron is also gaining popularity in the semiconductor industry and laser technology. Small amounts of high purity boron can be added to semiconductor materials to change their electrical properties, making them more efficient and effective.
The high purity boron market is further being used as a raw material for atomic reactor control rods and as a catalyst in organic synthetic mechanisms. The low solubility of high purity boron in water, alcohol, hydrochloric acid, and ether is a critical demand driving factor.
Top players in the high purity boron market concentrate on developing enriched products for specific applications. The emerging trend of introducing nano-materials throughout various industries is expected to broaden the application of high purity boron, driving market growth.
Features Promoting the Growth of the High Purity Boron Market
High purity boron is in high demand in the electronics industry for its exceptional performance, quality, and affordability. As a semiconductor dopant, it produces mono-crystalline silicon, which is required for electronic applications. Furthermore, boron carbide is used in military lightweight armour applications.
New Product Development Driving Growth
There are numerous small and large-scale players in the global high purity boron market. To increase their market share, key market players pursue various marketing strategies such as mergers and acquisitions, expansions, collaborations, and partnerships. Furthermore, leading companies concentrate on new product development to increase their market presence among consumers. These strategies have resulted in expanding the market for high purity boron.
What is Boron?
Boron is naturally found in the form of borates, colemanite, and orthoboric acid. Global industries primarily use four types of borate minerals to produce various forms of boron: colemanite, kernite, tincal, and ulexite. Turkey and the United States have the most boron resources, followed by North America and South America, Europe and Asia.
Colemanite is the most common type of boron deposit in Turkey, comprising around 70% of all deposits in the country. In the United States, tincal, kernite, and borates in brines make up the majority of deposits, with ulexite and colemanite occurring in smaller quantities. According to estimates, global reserves of boron are sufficient to meet future demand at current consumption levels.
Depending on the final application, manufacturers deliver various grades of high purity boron ranging from 99% to 99.9999%. The highest purity levels are also marketed as ultra-high purity boron. As demand for high purity metals rises, only a few global manufacturers remain dominant, 5E Advanced Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ: FEAM) being the one.
Producers
5E Advanced Materials, previously known as American Pacific Borates, owns Fort Cady, a strategically important mineral asset. Fort Cady is located in Southern California, and it is well placed to unleash substantial value through the monetization of boric acid.
Boric acid is used in a wide range of legacy applications, including glasses, fertilizers, ceramics, detergents, and so on, and newer, rapidly expanding applications driven by decarbonization transitions. Co-product opportunities are endless within the Fort Cady asset base, which will improve the relative cost curve and associated economics. As a result, 5E Advanced Materials is well-positioned to capitalize on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and increase shareholder value.
