The lightweight materials have high strength-to-weight ratio, exceptional corrosion resistance, and greater design flexibility. Its efficiency depends upon the mixture of alloys or composites used. Metal alloys segment compromises of lightweight and high-strength steel, aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and titanium alloys. These metal alloys are non-ferrous metals with low density, high strength-to-weight ratio, and high corrosive resistance. Metal alloys are easy to forge by forming, machining and, welding, and thus find application in various industries, such as automobile, aerospace, wind, and others.

The lightweight material market witnessed considerable growth in the recent past, due to rise in government investments in renewable power projects, such as wind and hydro energy. In addition, increase in demand for fuel efficient vehicles accelerated the market growth. China produced around 23.7 million vehicles including cars, buses, trucks, and vans, in 2014. This number is anticipated to witness a smooth growth due to increase in population and urbanization, especially in the developing economies. Thus, increase in the number of vehicles on roads in turn fuels the market growth.

Increase in penetration of lightweight components and rise in production of aircraft modules to uplift the demand for advanced composites and other lightweight materials drive the lightweight materials market growth. However, factors, such as rapid fluctuations in raw material prices and high cost of carbon fiber restrict the use in manufacturing of automotive components. These factors are expected to hinder the market growth. In addition, Asia-Pacific is projected to register significant growth as compared to the saturated markets of North America and Europe. The amount of lightweight materials used in automotive is expected to increase, due to the rise in the demand for fuel efficient and lightweight vehicles across the globe, thus fueling the overall market growth.

Top investment pockets

The composites and polymers segment dominated the global lightweight materials market accounting for a market share of 30.4%, in 2015. It is expected to maintain this trend due to increasing demand for lightweight materials from automotive industry throughout the forecast period. Moreover, the metal alloys segment is projected to exhibit significant growth rate among all types, followed by composites and polymers segment. The adoption of lightweight materials for aerospace and wind application is driven by increase in investments by governments of various economies in integrating renewable sources of energy for power generation as well as rise in demand for composites and aluminum from aviation industry.