Pultruded Spar Cap Market Size, Share, Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis & Growth Opportunity: 2024-2030

"The Pultruded Spar Cap Market for wind blades is likely to grow at a promising CAGR of 16.7% in the long run to reach US$ 2.1 Billion by 2030."

Market Dynamics

Introduction

About a decade ago, pultruded spar caps were introduced in the market to improve the stiffness of wind turbine blades. With the continuous technological advancements and evolution of longer wind turbine blades, it has become paramount that the wind blade must withstand deflection and stiffness at critical points. Thus, the design of wind turbine blades is getting more complex and critical. Pultruded spar caps with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer offer greater stiffness and make the blade lighter and thinner. Overall, pultruded spar caps offer robustness, low overall blade cost vs. infusion, lower operational expense, and reduced cycle time. However, pultruded spar caps are more suitable for wind turbines with longer blade lengths.

Similarly, around a decade ago, Vestas pioneered and patented the carbon fiber pultruded spar cap. It all started in 2007 when Zoltek started cooperating with Vestas to use carbon fiber in the 60-meter-long wind turbine blades in the USA.

Market Drivers

After the successful implementation of CFRP pultruded spar caps in wind turbines, there has been a constant rise in demand for carbon fiber in wind energy. Today, several major raw material and intermediate material suppliers have entered the market, and there are expected to be more local suppliers, especially from China.

Increasing offshore wind turbine installation coupled with the continuous rise in the development of longer wind turbine blades is the key factor generating excellent growth opportunities for pultruded spar caps in the years to come.

By Resin Type

"Vinyl ester resin is expected to remain the largest and fastest-growing resin of the market during the forecast period."

Based on the resin type, the pultruded spar cap market is segmented into epoxy resin, vinyl ester resin, and other resin.

Vinyl ester performs better than epoxy composites under tension and offers greater resistance. This ensures the structural integrity of pultruded components, making them more suitable for demanding wind turbine applications.

However, polyurethane composite is also gaining traction in the market, especially in Europe, as it offers improved bending strength and higher interlaminar shear strength than vinyl ester and epoxy.

However polyurethane one of the other resins also improves productivity, mainly due to its low viscosity and high reactivity, which, in turn, reduces the production cost of pultruded spar caps when compared with vinyl ester and epoxy composites.

By Fiber Type

"CFRP is expected to maintain its supremacy in the market as the fastest-growing fiber type during the forecast period."

Based on the fiber type, the market is segmented into CFRP and GFRP & Hybrid.

With the ongoing trend of increasing wind blade lengths to enhance wind power, incorporating carbon fiber for making plates for spar caps has emerged as an effective strategy to improve the strength-to-weight ratio and enhance blade rigidity.

By Shore Type

"Offshore is expected to be the faster-growing shore of the market during the forecast period."

Based on the shore type, the market is segmented into onshore pultruded spar caps and offshore pultruded spar caps.

Due to the challenging environment and harsh conditions faced by offshore installations, the incorporation of pultruded spar caps offers notable advantages, such as corrosion resistance, durability, lightweight design, and structural integrity.

Offshore wind turbine blades are now increasingly being developed with carbon fiber pultruded spar caps, as carbon fiber's high strength allows spar caps to distribute loads effectively, reducing material stress and extending the overall fatigue life of the blade.

Offshore wind turbines typically experience higher and more consistent wind speeds compared to onshore locations. The lightweight yet strong nature of carbon fiber pultruded spar caps contributes to maximizing energy yield from offshore installations.

Regional Analysis

"Asia-Pacific is the biggest market for Pultruded spar cap during the forecast period."

In terms of regions, Asia-Pacific is the biggest market and is likely to grow at the fastest rate over the coming years, driven by an expected increase in offshore turbine installations and emerging opportunities for carbon fiber pultruded spar caps. Vestas has formed cooperation with a few local players, Weihai Guangwei Composites Co., Ltd. and Jiangsu Aosheng Composite Material Technology Co., Ltd., for the supply and development of pultruded spar caps in the region. China is likely to remain the key growth engine of the market, as the country is the largest wind turbine installer in the world and has the presence of many leading wind turbine manufacturers.

Europe is the second-largest offshore wind turbine installer in the world. This region has a presence of major OEMs, such as Vestas, Siemens Gamesa, Nordex SE, Enercon GmbH, and General Electric Company. Exclusive supplier agreements by these OEMs with leading pultruded spar cap manufacturers like Zoltek Corporation, Fiberline Composites, and DowAksa, will bolster healthy growth in the market over the years.

Key Players

The market is moderately populated, with the presence of a handful of regional and global players. Most of the major wind turbine blade manufacturers are cooperating with the leading players to develop and supply pultruded spar caps in the market.

The following are the key players in the pultruded spar cap market (Based on Dominance).

Zoltek Corporation (Toray Industries, Inc.)

Fiberline Composites A/S (Gurit Holding AG)

Weihai Guangwei Composites Co., Ltd.

DowAksa Advanced Composites Holdings B.V.

Jiangsu Aosheng Composite Material Technology Co., Ltd.

Exel Composites Oyj

Saertex GmbH & Co., KG

Epsilon Composite

Rochling SE & Co., KG

Hexcel Corporation

Note: The above list does not necessarily include all the top players in the market.

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence most comprehensively. 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.

Research Methodology

This strategic assessment report from Stratview Research provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today's pultruded spar cap market realities and future market possibilities for the forecast period. The report segments and analyzes the market in the most detailed manner in order to provide a panoramic view of the market. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for market participants as well as investors in the identification of the low-hanging fruits available in the market as well as to formulate growth strategies to expedite their growth process. This report offers high-quality insights and is the outcome of a 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.

More than 1,000 authenticated secondary sources, such as company annual reports, fact books, press releases, journals, investor presentations, white papers, patents, and articles, have been leveraged to gather the data.

We conducted more than 15 detailed primary interviews with market players across the value chain in all four regions and industry experts to obtain both qualitative and quantitative insights.