Global Hafnium Market By Market Trends
One major factor propelling the growth of the hafnium market is the increasing demand for hafnium in the aerospace industry as a superalloy and in submarines as nuclear control rods. In addition, the aerospace industry is working to introduce novel types in order to increase production time and cost due to the growing demand for new aircraft on a worldwide scale. Thus, hafnium superalloys are becoming more and more popular due to their increasing fuel efficiency. Furthermore, over the course of the forecast period, the target market is anticipated to grow at a faster rate due to the increasing use of hafnium oxide in optical coatings.
With a high refractive index and low absorption from the near-UV (approximately 250 nm) to the mid-IR (beyond 12 μm), hafnium oxide is an effective optical coating material. Nonetheless, one of hafnium's main uses is nuclear. Nuclear plant closures could impede the global market's overall growth. There were approximately 445 operational reactors in the world in 2019, down from 450 in 2018. Most countries, including Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Switzerland, are gradually weaning themselves off of nuclear energy. Globally, there have been more nuclear reactor closures in recent years than openings.