Aeroengine Composites Market Report

Market Insights

Composite materials earned a reputed image in the aerospace industry, owing to their excellent track record of more than five decades. With such incredible properties of composites in contrast to other materials, GE Aviation, Safran Aircraft Engines, Pratt & Whitney, and Rolls-Royce scrupulously started investing in the material in the critical section of an aeroengine. For an instance, in early 2014, Safran and Albany strategically collaborated to manufacture 3D Woven RTM composite aeroengine parts, such as composite fan cases, fan blades and outlet guide vanes, for the LEAP engine series, empowering B737 max, A320neo, and C919.

Aeroengine currently represents a small share of the total aircraft composites market but it is expected to grow at an impressive rate over the next five years. Increasing composite penetration in the latest aeroengines, such as LEAP, GEnx, GE9x, and passport 20 coupled with increasing production rates of the next-generation composite-rich aircraft A350XWB, B787, and F-35 is the major growth driver of the market. The incessant demand for fuel-efficient engines, increasing fan diameters of newer variants engines, and introduction of fuel-efficient variants of the best-selling aircraft with a greater composites content: A320neo and B737 max are further corroborating the growth of composites in aeroengines.

Airbus and Boeing, the two aircraft industry giants, are enjoying a huge order backlog of their major aircraft platforms. Boeing and Airbus had a combined total order backlog of 13,114 commercial aircraft by the April 2019. These huge pile of order backlogs of commercial aircraft will allow both airframers to roll out their aircraft continuously for about the next eight years at current build rates. Also, they have been strategically raising the production rates of their key commercial aircraft programs in order to deliver aircraft to their widespread clients at a shorter period; however, recent crashes of two Boeing’s B737 max (Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610) have temporarily impacted the production of its best-selling model due to the aircraft grounding by many airlines, which, in turn, forced the airframer to reduce the monthly production from 52 per month to 42 per month.

Another trend, which has a mammoth impact on the adoption of composites in aeroengines, is the significant increase is the engine bypass ratio (BPR). BPRs have increased from 5:1 in the 1970s to 10:1 in the new LEAP engine and will be 15:1 for the Rolls-Royce UltraFan engine, which is aimed for entry into service in 2025. High-temperature-resistant composite materials, such as Ceramic Matrix Composites, are also marking their presence in aircraft engines, especially in the hotter section of the engine. For instance, GE Aviation, a leading engine OEM, is deploying five CMC components in its GE9x, the world’s largest turbofan engine, empowering the B777x.

Segments' Analysis

Aeroengine Composites Market Share by Aircraft Type

The global aeroengine composites market is segmented based on the aircraft type as Narrow-Body Aircraft, Wide-Body Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, Helicopter, and Others.  Wide-body aircraft is likely to remain the growth engine of the market during the forecast period. Increasing production rates of the next-generation aircraft programs A350XWB and B787 and increasing penetration of composites in newer variants of aircraft, such as B777x, are driving the wide-body aircraft segment. The narrow-body aircraft segment is driven by LEAP-1A empowering A320neo family, LEAP-1B empowering B737 max, and LEAP-1C empowering C919.

Aeroengine Composites Market Share by Application Type

Based on the application type, the aeroengine composites market is segmented as Fan Blades, Fan Case, Outlet Guide Vanes, Shrouds, and Others. Fan blades and fan case together account for most of the aeroengine composites market and are likely to remain the dominant applications in the coming five years too.  New-generation engine models, such as GEnx, GE9X, Pratt GTF, LEAP-1A, LEAP-1B, and LEAP-1C, contain both fan blades and fan case made of composites, which has led to a colossal share of both segments in the market. Development of new composite applications in engines by replacing traditional metallic components is further substantiating the growth of the aeroengine composites market. In the last decade, a sheer interest has been recorded for the use of ceramic matrix composites in various engine applications, such as shrouds, combustor liners, and nozzles.

Aeroengine Composites Market Share by Composite Type

Based on the composite type, the aeroengine composites market is segmented as Polymer Matrix Composites (PMC), Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMC), and Metal Matrix Composites (MMC). PMC is projected to remain the most dominant composite type in the global aeroengine composites market over the next five years. PMC is majorly being used to develop all the major composite components of the engine, such as fan blades and fan cases. Carbon-epoxy composite is the perennial choice of PMC, used majorly in the market.  The CMC segment is likely to depict the highest growth in the global aeroengine composites market over the next five years. Much of this growth is attributed to the significant growth in LEAP engines, which incorporate various CMC components.

Regional Insights

Based on the regions, North America is projected to remain the largest market during the forecast period, driven by the presence of the world’s largest aircraft OEM: Boeing. The USA is likely to remain the growth engine of the region’s market during the forecast period, propelled by the presence of the major engine manufacturers, such as GE Aviation, CFM International, and Pratt & Whitney. Asia-Pacific currently represents a relatively small opportunity; however, is subjected to grow at a handsome rate in the coming years, largely driven by China. China is projected to be the new growth engine in the region. Presence of assembly plants of A320neo and B737max coupled with the upcoming C919 aircraft is expected to drive the market in the country.

Market Scope & Segmentation

The Aeroengine Composites Market is segmented in the following ways:

Aeroengine Composites Market Size, Share & Forecast by Aircraft Type:

• Narrow-Body Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Wide-Body Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Regional Aircraft (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Helicopter (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Aeroengine Composites Market Size, Share & Forecast by Application Type:

• Fan Blades (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Fan Case (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Outlet Guide Vanes (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Shrouds (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Others (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Aeroengine Composites Market Size, Share & Forecast by Composite Type:

• Polymer Matrix Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Ceramic Matrix Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Metal Matrix Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Aeroengine Composites Market Size, Share & Forecast by Reinforcement Type:

• Carbon Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Silicon Carbide Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)
• Other Composites (Regional Analysis: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW)

Aeroengine Composites Market Size, Share & Forecast by Region:

• North America (Country Analysis: The USA, Canada, and Mexico)
• Europe (Country Analysis: France, Germany, the UK, Russia, and Rest of Europe)
• Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: China, Japan, Singapore, and Rest of Asia-Pacific)
• Rest of the World (Sub-Region Analysis: Latin America, the Middle East, and Others)

Key Players

The supply chain of this market comprises raw material suppliers, composite suppliers, aeroengine composite component manufacturers, tier player, aeroengine OEMs, airframers, airlines, and MRO companies.

Some of the key players in the aeroengine composites market are-

• Safran Aerospace Composites
• Safran/Albany
• CFAN
• GE Aviation
• Meggitt PLC
• FACC AG
• GKN Aerospace (Melrose Industries)
• Triumph Group Inc.

The key aircraft OEMs include-

• Boeing
• Airbus
• Bombardier
• Embraer
• COMAC
• Lockheed Martin
• Dassault Aviation
• Gulfstream Aerospace.

Development of new applications, in-house manufacturing of composite parts, and formation of JV and M&As are some of the major strategies adopted by the major players in order to gain a competitive edge in the market.

Research Methodology

For calculating the market size, our analysts follow either Top-Bottom or Bottom-Top approach or both, depending upon the complexity or availability of the data points. Our reports offer high-quality insights and are the outcome of detailed research methodology comprising extensive secondary research, rigorous primary interviews with industry stakeholders and validation and triangulation with Stratview Research’s internal database and statistical tools. We leverage multitude of authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, government sources, trade associations, journals, investor presentation, white papers, and articles to gather the data. More than 10 detailed primary interviews with the market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts are usually executed to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights into the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

• Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis
• Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter’s five forces analysis, SWOT analysis
• Market trend and forecast analysis
• Market segment trend and forecast
• Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.
• Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities
• Emerging trends
• Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players
• Key success factors

Report Customization Options

With this detailed report, Stratview Research offers one of the following free customization options to our respectable clients:

Company Profiling

• Detailed profiling of additional market players (up to 3 players)
• SWOT analysis of key players (up to 3 players)

Customer Information

• Mapping of major composite components in the major aeroengine models.

Competitive Benchmarking

• Benchmarking of key players on the following parameters: Product portfolio, geographical reach, regional presence, and strategic alliances 

Custom Research: Stratview research offers custom research services across the sectors. In case of any custom research requirement related to market assessment, competitive benchmarking, sourcing and procurement, target screening, and others, please send your inquiry at sales@stratviewresearch.com