Metal Foam Market Size Worth $117.7 Mn By 2025 | CAGR: 4.1%

Tuesday 5 December 2017, Amsterdam

The global metal foam market is expected to reach USD 117.7 million in 2025, growing at a CAGR of 4.1%, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc. Metal foams have seen a vast spectrum of development in the recent years, with further intensified research being carried out on this multifunctional material class. Despite the various value-additions catered by metal foams, there still exists an imbalance between the properties offered and the substantial utilization. A major factor influencing this is the high cost of metal foams. 

Increasing environmental concerns and stringent automotive pollution control norms have forced automotive manufacturers to monitor the pollution. Vehicular curb weight is one of the most important factors affecting the fuel efficiency. Usage of lightweight porous metallic materials in a body frame not only results in the reduction in some parts being used but also in the curb weight, thus drastically increasing fuel efficiency and reducing vehicular pollution.

The major foundry owners are working to pave a path out by overcoming issues related to economies of scale, high capital costs, labor law issues and government regulations related to procurement of aluminum. Usage of aluminum is likely to be taken over by steel and composite wood, mainly for the construction applications. Similarly, a wide range of opportunities pursued by pro-active metal casters who face the substitution threats, have considered converting weldments to castings.

Typical functional applications of metal foams include sound absorption, fragmentation capture, impact absorption, heat sinks and exchangers, the matrix for chemical bed and scrubbers, filters and mist elimination of water and oils, core structure for high strength panels, battery plates and spacers, automotive and aeronautical light-weighting, and catalyst surfaces.