“A meteoric market rise is predicted for Scandium and Scandium Oxide Market”
The Scandium Oxide Market was valued at US$ 91.8 Mn in 2020, and is expected to reach US$ 182.3 Mn by 2027, with a growing CAGR of 12.1% during the forecast period (2017-2027). For Scandium and Scandium Oxide market the potential demand is much greater than present supply sources can match. The major factors driving the growth of the market studied are the accelerating usage of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and the rising demand for aluminum-scandium alloys.
Scandium oxide is one of the most common scandium compounds. Scandium oxide gets wide applications in many industries due to its special physicochemical properties. Scandium oxide is primarily being used in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and in scandium-aluminum alloys. SOFCs are a major application of scandium. These fuel cells can produce energy very cheaply and efficiently through continuous heat-producing internal reactions. The residual heat emitted from the SOFCs can be used to improve power generated from cheap natural gas and overall electricity from these cells costs only cents for each kilowatt-hour.
Scandium-aluminum alloys show significant promise in many areas. This type of alloy is light and strong and may be used in airplanes and in other applications with high-performance demands. Scandium-aluminum alloys can also be used in a type of 3D printing that creates CAD models entirely of metal. Some of the key players operating in the scandium oxide market include Scandium International Mining Corp., Henan Tianfu Chemical Co., Accela ChemBio Inc., Haihang Industry, among others.
Scandium along with yttrium and lanthanide belongs to the rare earth family. It also exhibits a property of mineralization with titanium, vanadium, and iron which is not common with other rare earth elements. In the earth's crust, the specific minerals deposits of scandium are very rare. Scandium is mined from existing small reserves and minerals which include thortveitite, scandium phosphate, bazzite, and befanamite. Scandium resources have been identified in regions and countries such as Australia, Canada, China, Kazakhstan, Madagascar, Norway, the Philippines, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States.
The research report analyses the ecosystem and value chain of the Scandium Oxide market. The report categorizes the Scandium Oxide Market to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following below-mentioned market segments.
The unique insights provided by the Scandium Oxide market report also includes the following:
| Trend Analysis of Scandium Oxide market | Impact |
| Rising distributed power generation applications across regions which further increases the demand for solid oxide fuel cell (Sofc) that in turn increases the demand of scandium oxide over the coming years | Positive |
| Fuel flexibility and increasing demand for energy-efficient power generation further propel the demand for scandium oxide across the globe in the forecast period | Positive |
| Scandium Aluminium 3D printing being adopted for making radiators of Standard IC engines | Positive |
| Emerging usage of scandium in making next-generation airplane fuselages | Positive |
| The growing market of Heat Exchangers made from Scandium Aluminium | Positive |
| Scandium is a hard rock resource and there are risks and sustainability issues involved in mining it as compared with competing products | Negative |
| Titanium and aluminum high-strength alloys, AHSS as well as carbon-fiber composite materials, may substitute scandium-alloys in certain high-performance applications | Negative |
In terms of market by application, the solid oxide fuel cell market segment is estimated to be the largest segment of the Scandium Oxide market during the forecast period
Based on the application, the scandium oxide market has been segmented as aluminum-scandium alloys, high-intensity metal halide lamps, lasers, ceramics, SOFCs, among others. The SOFCs segment is dominating the market in the year 2019 and is expected to witness similar growth trends during the forecast period. The use of scandium in solid electrolytes helps the system operate at much lower temperatures than conventional SOFCs. It finds application in SOFC on account of the power density of scandium zirconium-based solid electrolyte which leads to the decrease of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) reaction temperature. Thus, the application of scandium has helped in lowering the costs of SOFCs, facilitating its widespread adoption for distributed power generation.
Scandium lasers find applications in defense and healthcare fields. Scandium isotopes are also used as a common tracer in the oil refining industry. Applications of scandium can be classified into three types: mature applications, emerging applications, and future demand applications.
The aluminum alloys market segment of the scandium oxide market is expected to register the highest CAGR in the forecast period. The greatest emerging potential Scandium’s is in light-weighting such as with aluminum alloys. The space and aviation industry is a vital market for such products. Given the massive fuel savings, the scandium aluminum light-weighting offers the market of scandium oxide offers enormous market potential. With the current transition of the automotive market to vehicle electrification, the light-weighting concept is vital for mass-market vehicles. A lighter electric car can offer higher power and range for the same size battery. Airbus has already been involved in designing aircraft components and systems using new lightweight scandium-magnesium-aluminum alloys.
In terms of application, the Asia Pacific region of the Scandium Oxide market segment is expected to be the fastest-growing region.
Asia Pacific region accounted was the fastest-growing region of the Scandium Oxide market followed by the other. The demand in the Asia Pacific region is primarily driven on account of demand from end-user industries such as growing defense markets. The Asia Pacific region is growing on account of growing power demand, growth in the electronics industry, and rapid industrialization. The production of Scandium in key countries such as India, South Korea, and the Philippines has also contributed to a growing market.
The report also provides an in-depth analysis of market dynamics such as drivers, restraints opportunities and challenges:
| Sr. No | Year | Type | News |
| 1 | Mar-21 | Joint Venture / Agreement | Global mining and metals group Rio Tinto entered into an agreement with metal additive manufacturing company Amaero to supply high-performance aluminum-scandium alloy which can be further processed into powder for 3D printing and used for high-temperature applications |
| 2 | Jan-21 | Expansion | Rio Tinto initiated the construction of a commercial-scale scandium oxide demonstration plant in Canada's Quebec province. The plant has the potential to expand the current market of Scandium |
| 3 | Sep-20 | Technology / Patent | Scandium International Mining Corp. has filed a provisional patent application with the U.S. Patent Office for the usage of scandium in applications such as lithium-ion batteries |
The key players operating in the scandium and scandium oxide market are:
Priyanka has been writing chemicals & material market research reports for the last 12 years. A post-graduate, her specialization is in the chemicals sector. Preparing end-to-end reports covering minute details for market insights, competitive intelligence and trend analysis in the CMFE sector.
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