Yttria-stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) Market

Yttria-stabilized Zirconia Market: Overview

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is a ceramic which is used to stabilize the crystalline structure of zirconium dioxide at room temperature. The stabilization is done with the help of yttrium oxide. Yttria-stabilized zirconia is white in color and is available in powder form. Some of the prominent applications of YSZ are textiles, nano fibers, solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), electrolyte micro layers, ceramic applications, and thermal coatings.

Yttria-stabilized zirconia is known to have good strength, toughness, and mechanical properties. It can be molded into any shape through injection molding, pressure casting, slip casting, or extrusion.

Yttria-stabilized Zirconia Market: Trends

Yttria-stabilized zirconia is used in various industries such as dental, automotive, industrial, and electronics. Demand for yttria-stabilized zirconia is anticipated to increase in the electronics industry due to the properties such as high temperature resistance and damage tolerance. YSZ also helps to bring down the overall weight of electronic devices. Thus its usage has increased in the recent times due to the demand for lightweight products in applications such as automotive and electronics.

Yttria-stabilized zirconia is also used widely to manufacture dental crowns as it is tough and does not break easily. Its superior quality performance as compared to that of the traditional ceramics is anticipated to drive the yttria-stabilized zirconia market in the near future.

However, the cost of yttria-stabilized zirconia is higher than that of the traditional ceramics. This is anticipated to restrain the growth of the market to a certain extent.

Yttria-stabilized Zirconia Market: Region-wise Outlook

Demand for yttria-stabilized zirconia was high in Asia Pacific in 2016. It was primarily due to the increase in usage of yttria-stabilized zirconia in the end-use industries such as electrical and electronics and automotive. The yttria-stabilized zirconia market in China and India is anticipated to expand significantly due to the rapid developments taking place in these countries. Europe is next to Asia Pacific in terms of consumption of yttria-stabilized zirconia in 2016 and the trend is anticipated to remain constant during the future years as well. Increase in demand for YSZ in Europe was due to the development of automotive sector in the region. Presence of various automotive manufacturing sites in the countries such as Germany, France, and Italy are expected to drive the market for yttria-stabilized zirconia in Europe during the forecast period.

The market for yttria-stabilized zirconia in North America is expected to expand at a steady pace during the next few years. This is primarily due to the presence of key automotive manufacturers in the U.S., who are also the major consumers of YSZ.

The market for yttria-stabilized zirconia in Middle East & Africa and Latin America is expected to witness growth at a comparatively sluggish pace, owing to the paucity in the number of manufacturing facilities present in the region. Furthermore, YSZ consumed in Middle East & Africa and Latin America is primarily imported from key manufacturing countries situated in other regions. Moreover, high price of YSZ is a restraint to the growth of the market in Middle East & Africa and Latin America. The trend is expected to stay constant during the forecast period.

Yttria-stabilized Zirconia Market: Key Players

Some of the market players functional in the market of yttria-stabilized zirconia are Zircomet Ltd., Inframat® Advanced MaterialsTM, LLC, and Elan Technology.