Piezoelectric Ceramics Market Size, Share and Trends 2024 to 2034

Piezoelectric Ceramics Market Size and Forecast 2024 to 2034

The global piezoelectric ceramics market size is expected to be worth USD 1.41 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to reach around USD 1.41 billion by 2034, growing at a solid CAGR of 7.11% over the forecast period 2024 to 2034. The growing demand for piezoelectric ceramics in consumer electronics such as sensors, transducers, and actuators, the automotive sector, medical devices, and robotics drives the market.

Piezoelectric Ceramics Market Key Takeaways

• Asia-Pacific dominated the global piezoelectric ceramics market in 2023.
• North America is projected to host the fastest-growing market in the coming years.
• By type, the lead zirconate titanate (PZT) segment dominated the market in 2023.
• By type, the barium titanate segment is expected to grow at the fastest rate in the market during the forecast period of 2024-2034.
• By category, the piezoelectric actuator segment led the global market in 2023.
• By application, the ultrasonic surgical instruments segment registered its dominance over the global piezoelectric ceramics market in 2023.
• By end-use, the electronic & semiconductor industry segment held the largest market share in 2023.

Market Overview

The piezoelectric ceramics market deals with the production of piezoelectric ceramics, which are piezoelectric materials possessing the property of piezoelectricity, wherein electric potential can be generated under mechanical stress such as bending, stretching, or compressing. The materials undergo high-temperature sintering and solid-state reactions to develop their robust mechanical and reliable piezoelectric properties. These materials possess dielectric and elastic properties. Depending on their ease of polarizability, piezoelectric materials are of two types: soft and hard. Soft materials have a high coupling coefficient, a high dielectric coefficient, and a noise-free response to stimulus; they can polarize easily.

Soft piezoelectric materials are commonly used as sound sensors, microphones, microbalances, ultrasonic transducers, and as equipment for non-destructive testing and inspection in the automotive and aeronautical industries. Unlike soft materials, hard piezoelectric materials require high voltage for polarization. They are used as ultrasonic cleaners and sonar devices. These piezoelectric ceramics have diverse applications in various fields like electronics, automotive, aerospace, and IT.

How Can AI Improve the Piezoelectric Ceramics Market?

The development and utilization of artificial intelligence in the piezoelectric ceramics market can become a strong driving force for industrial upgrading and development. AI can be used in designing, manufacturing, optimizing, and consuming piezoelectric ceramics. Novel piezoelectric materials can be designed using various AI tools and software, enabling faster discovery and more potent materials with desired piezoelectric properties.

Additionally, AI in piezoelectric ceramic manufacturing can be applied in molding and firing ceramics. Automation in the manufacturing process results in reduced firing time and labor intensity and improved production efficiency and reproducibility. Overall, AI can effectively enhance market competitiveness and play a vital role in revolutionizing the industry from traditional to modern transformation.

Market Scope

Market Dynamics

Drivers

Advanced healthcare facilities

Piezoelectric materials convert mechanical energy into electrical energy. In addition to their diverse applications in several fields, piezoelectric ceramics are widely used in healthcare. In ultrasound imaging, piezoelectric crystals within the ultrasound probes convert electrical signals into high-frequency sound waves within the body and generate images on the screen. These materials are also used in drug delivery systems, where the electric signals are converted to mechanical motion.

This facilitates timely and accurate drug delivery to their targeted site, ensuring optimal treatment effectiveness. Additionally, they can be used as diagnostics that can be worn or implanted into the body to monitor vital signs and measure pressure changes, empowering early detection of a disease.

• In September 2023, researchers from the University of Bath, UK, developed a novel and advanced fabrication process to produce scalable, tunable piezoelectric ceramic-polymer composites for the growth of neural stem cells. These composites increased survival, proliferation, stemness, and differentiation of neural stem cells into their daughter cells.

Restraint

One of the major drawbacks of piezoelectric ceramic is its fragility. Piezoelectric ceramic can be easily broken when colliding with a hard object. To prevent ceramic from breaking, high requirements for transportation and installation are necessary. This leads to an increase in the cost of the material. Additionally, large-scale outdoor ceramic works usually have thick bodies, which makes them difficult to dry. They are air-dried since they cannot be dried at accelerated speeds. The complex production procedures require skills to maintain temperature during firing and shaping. These factors hinder the piezoelectric ceramics market growth.

Opportunity

Robotics

The growing demand in the robotics sector potentiates the application of piezoelectric ceramics. According to the International Federation of Robotics, the total installation of industrial robots rose by 12% in 2023, reaching 44,303 units. Piezoelectric ceramics are used as actuators, transducers, or sensors in robots. These materials possess several properties, such as quicker response, high displacement resolution, high stiffness, high actuating force, and little heat generation, which are why they are employed in precision motion in robotics.

Piezoelectric ceramics help to achieve the least weight in a robot, and different mechanisms play a role in governing the speed of the robots. The robots need sufficient sensing and actuation to create an environment perception and integrate stabilization techniques to achieve autonomy. Hence, with the advancement of wireless power transmission technologies, autonomous piezoelectric robots have gained immense potential.

Type Insights

The lead zirconate titanate (PZT) segment held a dominant share in the piezoelectric ceramics market in 2023. Lead zirconate titanate (PZT) is an inorganic, perovskite material with piezoelectric potential. It is the most commonly used piezoelectric material due to its comparatively higher sensitivity and operating temperature. This material is used to make ceramic capacitors, ultrasound transducers, ceramic resonators, FRAM chips, and piezoelectric inkjet technologies.

• In January 2024, A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates, a MEMS design service company, collaborated with MEMS Infinity to accelerate the commercialization of piezoelectric MEMS sensors and actuators made using PZT. PZT applications include micro speakers in earbuds, micro mirrors for automotive lidar, medical ultrasound imaging, microfluidics, and AR/VR.

The barium titanate segment is expected to grow at the fastest rate in the piezoelectric ceramics market during the forecast period of 2024-2034. Barium titanate (BaTiO3) is an inorganic compound with ferroelectric, pyroelectric, and piezoelectric ceramic properties. It has wide applications as electrical insulators, capacitors, microphones, and other transducers. Additionally, it can also be used as a semiconductor in non-linear optics, in photorefractive applications, in some varieties of uncooled sensors used in thermal cameras, and to manufacture energy storage systems for electric vehicles. Hence, the diverse applications of barium titanate make it a preferred choice. Furthermore, the development and utilization of lead-free piezoelectric materials increases the demand for barium titanate.

Category Insights

the piezoelectric actuator segment led the global piezoelectric ceramics market in 2023. Piezoelectric actuators are a type of machine components that convert electrical energy into a desired controlling motion with high speed, force, and virtually unlimited resolution. Piezoelectric materials change dimensions when a force and/or voltage is applied. Hence, they are used as mirrors on satellites and telescopes to non-magnetic and miniaturized medical devices. Additionally, they do not emit heat and hence are used in automotive, defense, scientific instrumentation, and ultrasonic machine controls.

• In March 2024, Kyocera launched KJ4B-EX1200-RC, a new inkjet printhead with ink recirculation to enhance productivity over a wide range of applications, including commercial printing and package printing. The uniform image quality and higher print quality were achieved by developing and installing a large monolithic piezoelectric actuator. The actuator was developed using patented material design technology for dense polycrystalline ceramic actuators.

Application Insights

the ultrasonic surgical instruments segment registered its dominance over the global piezoelectric ceramics market in 2023. Piezoelectric ceramics are widely used in ultrasonic surgical instruments, providing enhanced safety, visibility, precision, faster healing, and more comfort to the patients. Ultrasonic surgical instruments are used in dental surgery, spinal surgery, bone surgery, and eye surgery. The scalpel blades used in addressing soft tissues like muscles oscillate at high frequencies upon exposure to ultrasonic waves, thereby creating friction for swift cutting and coagulation. This results in lesser pain, faster wound healing, and better recovery. These devices, when made from piezoelectric ceramics, offer multi-functional features like lighting, cooling water, gas, and suction options, enhancing their utility in procedures such as tissue sealing and vascular surgery.

End-use Insights

the electronic & semiconductor industry segment held the dominant piezoelectric ceramics market share in 2023. Piezoelectric ceramics are smart materials commonly used in electrical, electronic, biomedical, and electrochemical applications. The electronic & semiconductor industry uses huge amounts of piezoelectric ceramics. Semiconductors control and manage the flow of electric current in electronic equipment. The transition of the automotive industry to electric vehicles, rising demand for consumer electronics, and transportation electrical systems.

Regional Insights

Asia-Pacific dominated the global piezoelectric ceramics market in 2023. The rising demand for electronics in the region boosts the market. It is assumed that India will become a $1 Tn digital economy by FY26. Initiatives like ‘Digital India,’ ‘Make in India,’ and ‘Smart City’ projects foster growth in the market. Additionally, the automotive sector has a positive potential in the market. According to the International Trade Administration, China is the world’s largest vehicle market in terms of both annual sales and manufacturing output, and domestic production is expected to reach 35 million by 2025. At the same time, India is the third largest automotive market, followed by Japan, the fourth largest. The presence of key players in the automotive industry in Japan augments the demand for piezoelectric ceramics market.

North America is projected to host the fastest-growing market in the coming years. The state-of-the-art healthcare facilities in North American countries like the U.S. and Canada boost the piezoelectric ceramics market. According to the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the U.S. is the largest medical device market globally, accounting for 40% of the global medtech market. According to the International Trade Administration, Canada’s medical device market size was estimated to be $6.8 billion in 2022 and is further assumed to grow by 5.4% each year by 2028. Additionally, the growing automotive, aerospace, and electronics sectors in the region augment the piezoelectric ceramics market.

• In May 2024, Birchrun Labs developed a new piezoelectric material for use by a Fortune 200 manufacturer, which has the highest in-class displacement and temperature tolerance. The developed actuators possess higher operating frequencies, greater force, and longer duty cycles.

Piezoelectric Ceramics Market Companies

• APC International Ltd
• B&H Technical Ceramics
• Bullen Ultrasonics
• Central Electronics Limited
• CeramTec Industrial Co. Ltd.
• Morgan Advanced Materials
• Physik Instrumente L.P.
• Piezo Direct
• Piezo Technologies
• Reade Advanced Materials
• TDK Corporation
• TQ Abrasive Machining
• Washington Mills

New Advancements

• In January 2024, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS) and the Rostock University Medical Center developed a piezoceramic stack actuator for quicker and more efficient root canal treatment. The efficiency is improved by reducing the risk of file breakage by maintaining vibration amplitude and frequency, size, and voltage supply.
• In November 2023, CeramTec launched its next-generation piezoceramic flow sensors for ultrasonic water meters, offering smart metering solutions in water, heating, cooling, and gas. These flow sensors are characterized by high sensitivity and excellent reception and transmission behavior.
• In March 2024, PI developed PIRest, a technology that can change thickness on a nanometer scale and smaller and maintain position without the need for power. PIRest and standard piezoelectric actuator technologies combined in smart arrays can meet the future demands for precision adaptable surfaces. This finds potential in semiconductor and optics applications.

Segments Covered in the Report

By Type

• Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT)
• Barium Titanate
• Potassium Niobate
• Sodium Tungstate
• Others

By Category

• Piezoelectric Actuators
• Piezoelectric Generators
  • Single Layer Generators
  • Multilayer Generators
• Piezoelectric Sensors
  • Active Sensors
  • Passive Sensors
• Piezoelectric Transducers

By Application

• Voice Changer and Sound Transducers
• Piezo Igniters
• Piezo Detonator for Anti-Tank Weapons
• Nuclear Safety Goggles
• Ultrasonic Surgical Instruments
• Antennas
• Inkjet Printers
• High-Power Electro-Acoustic Devices
• Flow & Level Sensors
• Military Guidance Systems
• Keyless Door Pads
• Others

By End-Use

• Electronic & Semiconductor Industry
• Consumer Electronics Industry
• Industrial Manufacturing
• Automotive
• Medical
• Others

By Geography

• North America
• Asia Pacific
• Europe
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa