Market Overview:

The Global Sulfur Hexafluoride Market Was Valued At US$ 259.6 Million in 2022, It Is Expected To Reach Value Of US$ 398.4 Million By 2030, At A CAGR Of 5.5% From 2022 To 2030.

Sulfur hexafluoride is a unique substance that doesn't have a smell or color and isn't dangerous or flammable. This compound is an excellent electrical insulator, and it is usually soluble in nonpolar organic solvents but not water. Most of the time, they are more dense than air. They are used for many things, like tracer compounds, making metals, medicine, dielectric mediums, and more.

SF6 is a very stable molecule that doesn't change when it's around other chemicals. But SF6 can break down into sulfur dioxide and fluoride gas if it is heated to high temperatures or hit by an electrical spark. SF6 is also a powerful greenhouse gas, with 22,800 times the warming power of carbon dioxide.

Most of the time, making SF6 goes hand in hand with making aluminum and magnesium. Some fluorinated chemicals also give off SF6 when they are made.

Market Dynamics:

Market Trends:

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is used in non-invasive procedures and echocardiograms to find the cause and location of disease. The spread of lifestyle diseases and long-term illnesses in industrialized countries is making the health care industry grow. Higher incomes, more money spent on healthcare by the government, and a growing population are all factors in the growth of the healthcare industry in emerging nations, which is driving up the demand for sulfur hexafluoride.

The demand for electronics and power is growing very quickly around the world. In recent years, the consumer goods, computer, and telecommunications industries all grew a lot. Demand for electronic and electric products like solar semiconductors, panels, power equipment, and switchgear is expected to rise over the next few years, which will increase the need for sulfur hexafluoride.

The growth of the market is also linked to how governments in different developing countries are building up their energy infrastructure. Sulfur hexafluoride is bad for the environment because it adds to the warming of the planet. Even though sulfur hexafluoride's inability to dissolve in water is less harmful to the environment, it is expected to be the main factor limiting global demand for sulfur hexafluoride in the future.

Companies that sell goods on the global market are making more products and getting them to more places. Also, market strategies like joint ventures, collaborations, new product development, partnerships, and agreements are expected to create growth opportunities for the leading product companies in the overall market during the forecast period.

Driving Factors:

• Surging Demand of Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) in Healthcare Sector

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is often used in echocardiograms and other non-invasive procedures to find out where and what causes disease. Because more people are getting chronic illnesses and because people in industrialized countries are living differently, the health care industry is growing. Some of the main things that are making the healthcare industry in developing countries grow are government spending on healthcare, higher incomes, and a growing population. This is increasing the demand for sulfur hexafluoride on the global market.

• High Demand for Sulfur Hexafluoride as Insulator in Power Distribution and Transmission Network

Substations and switchgears are important parts of the networks that move and distribute power. Switchgear is a group of devices, like circuit breakers, switches, fuses, and relays, that control, protect, monitor, regulate, and isolate electrical equipment all over the grid. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas is not flammable, stable chemically, and negatively charged. Its dielectric value is 2.5 times that of air. Because of this, it is widely used in electrical switchgears, transformers, and substations as an insulator, arc quencher, and cooling medium. If heat is lost in electrical power systems, like switchgears, because of an electric arc discharge, sulfur hexafluoride can absorb electron energy and lower the temperature of the arc by capturing free electrons. It can do this because it is a good heat conductor and has a high electronegativity. When free electrons and SF6 gas come together, they make big, heavy ions that move slowly. This keeps electron flashovers and avalanches from happening.

• Single-Serve and Specialty Sulfur Hexafluoride Methods are Becoming More Popular

Sulfur Hexafluoride is one of the drinks that people around the world drink the most. In North America, there is a big market for Sulfur Hexafluoride. Every day, nearly 71% of people in the US use Sulfur Hexafluoride. In Europe, the Sulfur Hexafluoride market is growing because single-use and specialty Sulfur Hexafluoride methods are becoming more popular. According to the International Sulfur Hexafluoride Organization, the number of Sulfur Hexafluoride bags exported around the world rose from 10.83 million in February 2019 to 11.11 million in February 2020. (ICO). This is a gain of 2.6% in one year. The latest information from the International Sulfur Hexafluoride Organization (ICO) shows that the most purchases were made in Europe. Sulfur Hexafluoride is also used a lot in North America and the Asia-Pacific region.

• Rising Demand for Power Generation Using Natural Gas

In 2018, the world's demand for electricity went up by 4%, which is 900 TWh. This is almost twice as fast as the overall demand for energy. This was also the biggest jump since 2010, when the world economy started to get better after the financial crisis. The weather can be blamed for about a fifth of the growth in electricity use last year. Last year, which was the fourth hottest year on record, there was a big increase in the number of people using air conditioning in the summer. In the same way, North American winters that were colder than average made more people want heating. Natural gas was the second biggest source of electricity in the world, and it grew by almost 240 TWh, which is almost as much as coal. Most of the increase came from the United States, where gas-fired generation rose by 15% to become the largest source of generation, passing coal

Restraining Factors:

• High Cost

The high price of sulphur hexafluoride slows down the market. It is a chemical or gas that takes up a lot of space and can be used in high-tech ways. If it costs too much, some end users may use less sulphur hexafluoride. There are cheaper chemicals that can be used instead of the one that is usually used.

Sulfur hexafluoride is expensive to use, store, and work with. The market is making less money because of these things. Costs are being cut by the big players in the market. But it costs a lot to store things and put pressure on the market. All of these things cause the rate to go up in the end. People may find it harder to get into the market because of these things.

• The Hazardous Effects on the Environment

Sulfur hexafluoride is a gas that was made by humans. It has a global warming potential (GWP) that is 235,000 times higher than carbon dioxide's and stays in the atmosphere for 3,200 years. Sulfur hexafluoride puts out a thick blanket of air that will keep warming the Earth for more than a hundred years. So, in 1999, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made the SF6 Emission Reduction Partnerships for Electric Power System, which is still in use today. Also, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has put in place rules that limit sulfur hexafluoride emissions from gas-insulated switchgear to 1% of the total. As a result, these factors may slow the growth of the market over the period of the projection.

Opportunities:

• Rise in Demand for Sulfur Hexafluoride for Semiconductor Production in Electronics Industry

In the semiconductor industry, sulfur hexafluoride (SE6) is a very important gas. Semiconductors are important parts of electronic devices, which are helping to make progress in military systems, transportation, clean energy, communications, computing, healthcare, and other areas. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is used to etch polysilicon and silicide with plasma. Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is usually used as an etching aid gas when making sub-micrometer features for modern integrated circuits. This is because it has more fluorine than CF4, but it doesn't polymerize. Plasma has become the well-known technology used in the semiconductor industry for the radio-frequency (RF) discharge process. SF6 is a gas used to etch or help etch. In the presence of an RF discharge, the lower sulfur fluorides can be broken down. So, the increase in production of semiconductors for the electronics and auto industries and the increase in use of sulfur hexafluoride in power transmission and distribution systems are likely to create a lot of growth opportunities for the market over the next few years.

• Increasing Interest in Semiconductor Devices

Market suppliers are putting money into the semiconductor industry to keep up with rising customer demand for ICs, smartphones, and flat-panel displays. For example, Intel said in February 2022 that it would pay USD 5.4 billion to buy Tower Semiconductor, a leading foundry for analog semiconductor products. When making ICs, using sulfur hexafluoride helps get around problems like more electrical losses and less reliability. In the coming years, these factors will help the market grow even more.

Challenges:

Sulfur hexafluoride is a gas that is very strong and has some strange qualities. More and more electronics, cars, and medical devices use this product. It is 2 billion billion times more powerful than gases like CO2.

Its use of gas can warm up the planet. The product is bad for the environment, which makes it hard to sell. When too much of the product is used, it can affect both people and the environment. Since sulphur hexafluoride is so dangerous, there may be less interest in it. All of these things could make it hard for this market to grow.

• Availability of Substitutes

The main thing that makes it hard for the market for sulfur hexafluoride to grow is that there are other things that can be used instead. The most common substitutes for sulfur hexafluoride are nitrogen trifluoride and carbon tetrafluoride. These are used in the same ways that sulfur hexafluoride is used.

Strategic Development:

• In June 2021 - India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) asked for bids to provide sulphur hexafluoride gas. India may need more SF6 gas because the switchgear industry is growing quickly. India can't make SF6, so it has to be shipped there. BARC has figured out how to use a semi-pilot plant to make SF6 gas. This includes making the important basic ingredient fluorine.
• In January 2021 - Kanto Denka Kogyo began building its first gas production center in the Anhui Xuancheng Hi-Tech Industrial Development District in Xuancheng, Anhui Province, China. Hangzhou Hengyuan Engineering Management gave about 5% of the money that was used to build the new factory. With this money, a new business called Xuancheng KDK Technology was started. The first stage of building was finished at the end of 2021. People's Government of Xuancheng wants to build a headquarters, a place to store things, and two places to make things. It also wants to make 7,700 tonnes of fluorinated gases every year.
• In November 2021 - A collaboration agreement was made between DUAL-ADE inc., a Canadian company that makes custom-designed switches, and nuventura GmbH, a German research center that is making next-generation Gasoline Insulated Switchgear (GIS) technology. Through this partnership, DUAL-ADE will be able to deliver a new medium voltage GIS without SF6, called GasuoTM, which will help North American utilities reach their energy transition goals more reliably.
• In August 2021 - KNW said that it would finish buying Solvay Korea. KNW bought companies that make fluorine (F2) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) (SF6). Solvay's Korean branch sells the chemicals to foundry companies around the world.
• In April 2021 - Hitachi ABB Power Grids Ltd. and GE Renewable Power's Grid Solution announced a cross-licensing, non-exclusive partnership to use a gas other than SF6 in high-voltage power transmission lines. This gas mixture based on fluoronitrile has much less of an effect on the environment than SF6.

Key Vendors:

Top market players are

• Matheson

MATHESON makes and sells industrial and specialty gases as well as gas handling equipment in the U.S. and around the world. Customers who use gas in their labs, fabs, plants, and processes can buy semiconductor, medical, welding, atmospheric, bulk, and cylinder gases from this company.

• Linde Group

Linde plc (Linde) is a company that works with industrial gases and engineering. It sells industrial, specialty, and process gases. The company sells gases like oxygen, nitrogen, and argon that are found in the air, as well as process gases like carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, and acetylene. Linde also designs, engineers, and makes equipment that makes gases for its own use. It also offers a wide range of services related to gas production and processing.

• Advanced Specialty Gases

The main office of Advanced Specialty Gases, Inc. is in the United States. Industrial gases are made by the company, which is part of what it does for a living.

• Concorde Specialty Gases

Concorde Specialty Gases is the world's largest supplier of Sulfur Hexafluoride gas (SF6) and many other rare and specialty gases used in industrial, commercial, medical, and consumer applications. They offer the lowest prices for Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) and other specialty gases.

• Kanto Denka Kogyo

KANTO DENKA KOGYO CO., LTD. makes many different metal and chemical products. The company makes inorganic and organic chemicals, magnetic metal powder for audio and video tapes, and fluorine compounds for semiconductors.

• Qinghai Xinhe

Cordyceps sinensis is something that Qinghai Spring Medicinal Resources Technology Co.,Ltd works on and sells. Cordyceps sinensis ointments, cordyceps sinensis raw materials, and other products are made and sold by the company. Qinghai Spring Medicinal Resources Technology also runs advertising businesses that are related to what it does.

• Showa Denko

The company Showa Denko K.K. makes and sells chemical products. It has different areas of business, including Petrochemicals, Chemicals, Electronics, Inorganics, Aluminum, and Others.

• Fujian Shaowu Yongfei

Special chemical products are made by Fujian Shaowu Yongfei Chemical Co., Ltd. Most of what the company makes and sells is anhydrous hydrogen fluoride, high-purity hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid, and other chemicals. Fujian Shaowu Yongfei Chemical sells their goods all over the world.

• Huaneng Fluorin

China Huaneng Group Fuel Co. Ltd. buys and sells coal in large quantities. The business also helps people import and export goods.

• Solvay

Solvay SA (Solvay) is a company that makes chemicals. It makes and sells essential chemicals, specialty polymers, and chemical materials, among other things. It works with customers in the aeronautics and automotive, natural resources and environment, electrical and electronics, agro-chemical, food, consumer goods, building and construction, healthcare, industrial applications, and other sectors.

• Yingde Gases

Yingde Gases Investment Limited runs businesses that make industrial gases. The company makes and sells gases like oxygen, nitrogen, and argon. Yingde Gases Investment offers services for the steel, chemical, energy, electronic, and other industries.

Segmentation Analysis:

By Product Outlook:

In 2019, standard grade sulphur hexafluoride brought in 85.2% of all revenue. This was because it was the most popular product around the world. Market growth is likely to be helped by the growing need for standard grade of the product to make high-voltage circuit breakers, which are used to make power and energy.

With sulphur hexafluoride for electronics, people can make integrated circuits, semiconductors, and particle accelerators. It is also used as a gas to clean the chambers in the semiconductor business. The need for electronic grade sulphur hexafluoride is driven by the fact that SF6 gas makes the right amount of F radicals to remove Si-based layers from the walls of plasma chambers.

Because its molecules are big and dense, sulphur hexafluoride is used as an etching gas to make MEMS and flat-panel displays. SF6 ions etch faster than other ions because they are very active and have a lot of energy. Because of this, it is expected that the demand for SF6 in these areas will grow over the next few years.

Most of the time, UHP grade sulphur hexafluoride is used to make electronics and for non-invasive medical procedures. The UHP grade of sulphur hexafluoride is the most pure and free of impurities. In the medical field, this is a must to make sure that patients are safe. It is also used in medicine to look at things like tumors, uterine fibroids, and adenomyosis. This is what drives its demand in medical applications.

• Electronic Grade
• UHP Grade
• Standard Grade
• Other

By Application Outlook:

In 2018, the biggest market for sulphur hexafluoride was the power and energy industry, and this is likely to stay true for the next few years. High-voltage circuit breakers, switchgear, and Gas Insulated Switchgear are all made with sulfur hexafluoride (GIS). These are used in power plants, which are the main places where the product is sold in the power and energy industry.

In particle and electron accelerators, which are used to improve the properties of polymeric materials, SF6 is used to insulate the high-voltage generators. Also, sulphur hexafluoride is used to make circuit breakers, which are used in power stations to stop electric currents from flowing when a safety relay trips.

The medical segment is expected to grow the most over the next few years, with a CAGR of 7.0%. A lot of surgeons use sulfur hexafluoride to help them do their jobs. The stable gas is used as a plug during surgery to separate the retina. It makes blood vessels easier to see during ultrasound imaging, which makes it easier to find deformities.

Sulfur hexafluoride is used in foundries and other places to cast magnesium and aluminum. It is used in magnesium casting as a degassing agent and to stop harmful by-products from forming. The gas reduces the amount of molten metal waste by slowing down the rate at which metals rust when they come into contact with air. This helps companies lower their production costs, which increases the demand for metal casting products.

• Power & Energy
• Medical
• Metal Manufacturing
• Electronics
• Others

Regional Insights:

In 2021, Asia and the Pacific made up about half of the market for sulphur hexafluoride. In Asia-Pacific in 2021, the most valuable part of the market was the technical grade segment. In Asia Pacific, the electrical T&D application segment is expected to grow by about 6.5% during the time frame of the forecast.

During the forecast period, the market for sulphur hexafluoride in North America and Europe is expected to grow at a CAGR of almost 6%. In the near future, North America is likely to have a big share of the market, while Europe's market is likely to grow a lot because the automotive industry there is using more and more semiconductors in electric cars.

In Latin America, the market for sulphur hexafluoride is growing faster than in the Middle East and Africa. But when it comes to how much is used, the Middle East and Africa use more than Latin America.

• North America
• US
• Canada
• Mexico
• Rest of North America
• Europe
• Germany
• France
• Italy
• Spain
• UK
• Nordic Countries
• Denmark
• Finland
• Iceland
• Sweden
• Norway
• Benelux Union
• Belgium
• The Netherlands
• Luxembourg
• Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific
• Japan
• China
• India
• Australia
• South Korea
• Southeast Asia
• Indonesia
• Thailand
• Malaysia
• Singapore
• Rest of Southeast Asia
• Rest of Asia-Pacific
• The Middle East & Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE
• Egypt
• South Africa
• Rest of the Middle East & Africa
• Latin America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Rest of Latin America

Scope of Report:

Conclusion:

• The report gives a general overview of the industry, including definitions, classifications, and the structure of the industry's supply chain.
• A market analysis of Sulphur Hexafluoride is given for international markets, including growth trends, an analysis of the competitive landscape, and the status of growth in key regions.
• The research report gives information and analysis based on market segments like regions, applications, and industries.