Noble gas Market Outlook - 2021-2030
The global noble gas market size was valued at $8.2 billion in 2020, and forecast projected to reach $14.0 billion by 2030, with global market forecast expected at a CAGR of 5.4% from 2021 to 2030.
The COVID-19 pandemic has propelled the demand for noble gases, owing to heavy usage of these gases in the healthcare sector. Industry manufacturers are setting up additional noble gas manufacturing facilities to increase the capacity production of noble gases to meet the demand during this period.
Noble gas is a chemically inert gas under normal conditions, and finds its applications across a myriad of industries such as healthcare, aerospace, construction, energy & power, and electronics. It is noncombustible, noncorrosive, nontoxic, colorless, odorless, and has lowest boiling point, hence, it is useful in cryogenic applications such as welding, insulation, lighting, and refrigeration. The above mentioned application and demand are the major factors fostering the growth of the noble gas market.
Noble gases are some of the most unreactive elements known to mankind, and are present in small quantities in atmosphere. Despite being inert, noble gases have found diverse and ever expanding applications in medicine. Helium and xenon have found greatest number of uses in the field of anesthesia. In addition, they are used to maintain a state of superconductivity of the electromagnet used in MRI scanners. Moreover, helium is used in lung testing and laparoscopy. Furthermore, helium and argon plasma technologies are used in cryo surgeries and in cardiac issues. Thus, increase in demand and applications of noble gas in the medical sector is expected to drive the growth of the noble gas market.
Noble gases have wide range of applications due to their special properties, especially their inertness to chemical reaction at normal conditions. Thus, they find their applications in welding industry, laser processing, and semiconductor processing. In addition, it is used in cryogenics and in the magnetic resonance imaging. Neon is used in television tubes, in advertising boards, wave meter tubes, lighting systems such as lamps and parts of aircraft. Furthermore, krypton is used in tubes of fluorescent lights, nuclear fusion energy research experiments, and satellites propellant. Moreover, radon a chemically inert but radioactive element, which is used in cancer therapy, treatment of tumors, hydrological research, earthquake predictions, and industrial radiography. Thus, rise in applications of noble gas in the modern society is a major factor driving the growth of the global noble gas market.
However, limited availability of noble gas resources on earth and the need for highly efficient gas extracting method are expected to restrain the growth of noble gas market. They are highly influenced by their natural abundance, with argon being cheapest and xenon the most expensive. For large-scale use, helium is extracted by fractional distillation from natural gas, which contains up to 7% helium. Remaining noble gases are obtained from air using the methods of liquefaction of gases to convert elements to a liquid state and fractional distillation, to separate mixtures into component parts. High cost of manufacturing noble gases and innovation & breakthrough in cost-effective and abundant substitutes is a major factor restraining the development of the growth of noble gas industry.
The presence of rapidly developing economies such as India, China, and Brazil has led to increase in the demand for noble gas. The rapid development and huge investment to improve the infrastructure of key economies have led to increase in demand for a variety of products that use noble gases. Moreover, increase in medical facilities across the world and rapid innovation to overcome various restraints to provide cheap medical facilities is another factor that will provide ample opportunities for the growth of noble gas market.
Surge in demand for natural fossil fuels to power most of the industrial plants and the development of nuclear fusion reactor for the future renewable & environment-friendly energy are likely to provide opportunities for the growth of the noble gas market. The innovation and breakthrough in the development of safe, small-scale nuclear fission reactor by Hyperion is contributing toward the growth of the market. The global noble gas is segmented into product, end use, and region.
On the basis of type of product, the global market is categorized into helium, neon, argon, xenon, krypton, and radon. Depending on end use, it is segregated into healthcare, electronics, aerospace, construction, energy & power, and others. Region wise, the market is studied across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.
The major companies profiled in this report include Air Liquide, Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Airgas Inc., American Gas, BASF SE, Gulf Cryo, Linde, Praxiar Technology, Royal Dutch Sell PLC, and Ra Gas Company Limited. Rapidly increasing demand for energy from the renewable energy resources and ongoing infrastructure development in developing countries have encouraged key manufacturers to expand their noble gas production capacities to meet the demand across the globe. Additional growth strategies such as acquisition, partnership, product launch, and business expansion strategies are adopted to attain key developments in the noble gas market.
Noble Gas Market, By Region
Asia-Pacific dominates the noble gas market, owing to the presence of developing countries in this region, which has increased the demand for noble gases in aerospace, construction, and other industries. In China, rise in investment toward the development of nuclear fusion power plant is expected to boost the noble gas market growth. Moreover, China is known for its large-scale infrastructure activities, which has increased the demand for noble gas. For instance, China built over 4,000 km of railway infrastructure in 2020. Rapid urbanization and industrialization are the major reasons driving the growth of the market. Increase in awareness among people regarding healthcare led to increase in the demand for medical equipment. The presence of huge population and variety of applications of noble gases in the electronic and food processing industries have driven the growth of the market. Moreover, increase in investment from the government and the presence of excess among the public led to investment in the construction sector. The abovementioned all application and the growing energy demands in this region are expected to drive the market growth of the noble gas.
By Region
Asia-Pacific holds a dominant position in 2020
Global Noble Gas Market, By Product
The helium segment dominates the noble gas market, due to increase in awareness among people regarding healthcare and rapid innovation and breakthrough in the medical sector to produce low-cost medical facilities, which led to increase in demand for noble gas. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, and unlike most gases, it exists in a monatomic state. It is nontoxic and almost completely inert. It is the second least dense gas behind hydrogen, and has lowest boiling and melting points compared to other noble gas elements. At present, most of the helium on earth is still produced from the radioactive decay of heavier elements that are found to be trapped in the natural gas fields. Around 80% of the helium production all over the world comes from the U.S. natural gas fields. It is used in the treatment of asthma, emphysema, and other breathing problems. It is used in balloons, welding, and cryogenics, used for magnetic resonance imaging, semiconductor processing, laser processing, and used in industries for preventing explosions.
In addition, increase in application of noble gases in medical equipment and rise in investment in developing countries to develop medical infrastructure promote the growth of the noble gas market. Furthermore, increase in investments in solar renewable energy is anticipated to provide ample opportunities for the growth of noble gas market.
By Type
Helium is projected to create abundant $ opportunity till 2030
Global Noble Gas Market, By End Use
The construction segment dominates the noble gas market due to rapid modernization and industrialization, thereby boosting the growth of the construction industry across the globe, especially in the developing countries such as India, China, and Brazil. Rise in government investment to develop world class infrastructure has escalated the demand for helium and other noble gases, which are used in the arc welding and to insulate the window pane. Most of the world’s noble gas production is used in the construction industry. The ship building and other large-scale transport construction vehicles demand for transportation of goods, thus fostering the demand for noble gas. Furthermore, noble gases such as argon, xenon, and krypton have low conductivity property, hence can significantly improve the energy performance of windows. These gases have lower gas phase conductivity than air, thus, they retard heat flow through the window. These applications will make the buildings more energy-efficient.
By End Use
Construction segment is projected as the most lucrative segment.
COVID-19 impact analysis
The outbreak of COVID-19 has negatively impacted most of the markets. Government steps to curb the spread of the virus led to complete lockdown across the globe, which has hampered the transportation system. The shutdown of various industries due to decline in the demand for the product and lack of workforce led to bankruptcy of many manufacturing industries around the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic has positively impact on the demand for noble gases, owing to the heavy usage of these gases in the healthcare sector. Industry manufacturers are setting up additional noble gas manufacturing facilities to increase the capacity production of noble gases to meet the demand during this period. In India during this period, large-scale transportation infrastructure activities in the developing countries have led to the demand for noble gases in the welding application.
Key Benefits For Stakeholders
- This report provides a detailed quantitative analysis of the current market trends and future estimations from 2020 to 2030, which assists to identify the prevailing opportunities.
- An in-depth analysis of various regions is anticipated to provide a detailed understanding of the current trends to enable stakeholders formulate region-specific plans.
- A comprehensive analysis of the factors that drive and restrain the growth of the market is provided.
- Region-wise and country-wise market conditions are comprehensively analyzed in this report.
- The projections in this report are made by analyzing the current trends and future market potential from 2020 to 2030 in terms of value.
- An extensive analysis of various regions provides insights that are expected to allow companies to strategically plan their business moves.
- Key market players within the market are profiled in this report and their strategies are analyzed thoroughly, which help to understand the competitive outlook of the global noble gas market.
Noble Gas Market Report Highlights
| Aspects | Details |
 By Type |
|
 By End User |
|
 By Region |
|
 Key Market Players | Air products and chemicals Inc., BASF SE, RasGas Company Limited, American Gas, Gulf Cryo, Air-liquide, Praxair technology Inc., Airgas Inc., Royal Dutch Shell PLC., Linde AG. |
Analyst Review
The noble gas market has witnessed significant growth on account of increasing application in window insulation, electronics, semiconductor industry, laser technologies, and energy-efficient lighting industry. Noble gases are inert in nature and do not react with other elements, and thus have found industrial acceptance in the various sectors. Despite being inert, noble gases have found diverse applications in medicine. Helium and xenon are widely used in the field of anesthesia. Moreover, they are used to maintain a state of superconductivity of the electromagnet used in MRI scanners. Helium is further used in lung testing and laparoscopy. In addition to this, helium and argon plasma technology are used in surgeries. Neon is used in the television tubes, in advertising boards, wave meter tubes, lighting systems such as lamps and parts of aircraft. Krypton is used in the tubes of fluorescent lights, nuclear fusion energy research experiments, and satellites propellant. Radon a chemically inert but radioactive element is used in cancer therapy, treatment of tumors, hydrological research, earthquake predictions, and industrial radiography. Thus, increase in application of noble gas is a major factor driving the growth of the market.
The presence of small quantities of noble gas and the difficulty to extract them from the atmosphere compared to other gases; hence the price per m3 of the noble gases is considered higher than other gases; hence restrict their usage to special application only.
Rapid development of material technology and increase in investment to improve the infrastructure has propelled the demand for variety of products that use noble gases.
Moreover, companies are inheriting merger, product launch, and business expansion strategies to boost the growth of the noble gas market throughout the forecast period. The future demand for power from eco-friendly resources and their advantages are expected to foster the growth of the noble gas market.
Increase in demand for noble gas in medical industry and rise in applications of noble gas in various industries are the driving factors and opportunities in the Noble Gas Market
Acquisitions and mergers are the key growth strategies of Noble Gas Market players
Asia-Pacific will provide more business opportunities for Noble Gas in future
Air Liquide, Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Airgas Inc., American Gas, BASF SE, Gulf Cryo, Linde, Praxiar Technology, Royal Dutch Sell PLC, and Ra Gas Company Limited
Helium holds the maximum share of the Noble Gas Market
Healthcare, electronics, aerospace, construction, energy & power are the potential customers of Noble Gas industry
Surge in demand in developing economies and rapid innovations for energy-efficient solutions is the current trends expected to influence the Noble Gas Market in the next few years
Construction, energy & power and healthcare are key end use application areas expected to drive the adoption of Noble Gas
Loading Table Of Content...
