Updated date - Dec 13, 2019

MarketsandMarkets forecasts the Cryocooler market to grow from USD 2.0 billion in 2016 to USD 3.0 billion by 2022, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.0% during the forecast period. The major factors that are expected to be driving the market are the growing medical & healthcare services in developing economies, the rapid shortage of helium gas, increased production of liquefied natural gas, and growing adoption of cryocoolers in the semiconductor industry. The objective of the report is to define, describe, and forecast the cryocooler market size based on hardware and service, type (Gifford-Mcmahon, Pulse-Tube, Stirling, Joule-Thomson, and Brayton), temperature range, heat exchanger type, application, and geography.

Attractive Opportunities in the Cryocooler Market

Source: Investor Presentation, Secondary Literature, Expert Interviews, and MarketsandMarkets Analysis

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See how this study impacted revenues for other players in Cryocooler Market Client�s Problem Statement A leading vendor in the cryocooler market wanted

� To conduct a study on the two-stage pulse tube cryocooler for refrigeration

� Information about the opportunities in this market

� Information about plans to penetrate this product market MnM Approach A study was conducted by MnM to identify the players supplying this product.

1. Market sizing and forecast of the serviceable market for the pulse tube cryocooler was provided to the client.

2. The study helped the client understand the opportunities in various applications, including medical and commercial.

3. The study provided a comprehensive analysis of the competitive landscape. The analysis of its competitors helped the client understand the product market in the same technology pool.

4. To enter the market, MnM helped the client with a market penetration study along with the key strategies adopted by competitors. Revenue Impact (RI) Our analysis helped the client strategize probable moves to penetrate the pulse tube cryocooler market worth ~USD 400 million in 2016. Consult our Analyst now

Market for the compressors is expected to hold the largest share during the forecast period

The cryocooler market for compressors is expected to lead the market between 2017 and 2022. Compressor is one of the major components of cryocoolers. The primary function of the compressor is to circulate the refrigerant in the system under pressure; this concentrates the heat it contains. At the compressor, the low pressure gas is changed to high pressure gas. In a cryocooler system, the helium is circulated through the compressor where it is compressed, and the heat of compression is removed. In addition, there are two types of compressors�water cooled and air cooled.

Gifford-McMohan (GM) and PT cryocoolers come with associated compressors that continually operate to keep the systems at the base temperature. Currently, there is a need for small cryocooler compressors with a high power density. By increasing the operating frequency of the compressor, high power density can be achieved.

Gifford-McMahon (GM) cryocoolers market expected to hold the largest share from 2017 to 2022

One of the major reasons for the higher cryocooler market of Gifford-McMahon (GM) cryocoolers is the wide usage of these cryocoolers to cool down the IR sensors used in MRI systems, missile guidance in military, and cryopumps in semiconductor fabrication applications. These cryocoolers are one of the most popular types of cryocoolers used in various applications due to their simple structure and high reliability. In the 1980s, these cryocoolers were used for cooling down charcoal absorbers in cryopumps to about 15 K. The cryopumps comprise a moving displacer and are used in semiconductor fabrication equipment to produce clean vacuums. A GM cryocooler is a regenerative-type cryocooler; it has a valve mechanism to generate the pressure pulse. The relation between the pressure pulse and the expander�displacer motion is vital. The basic components of GM cryocoolers are compressors, flex lines, regenerators, displacers, and valve mechanism. A GM cryocooler can reach lower temperatures compared to a Stirling cryocooler. In case of GM cryocoolers, the maintenance interval is approximately from one to two years; making them one of the majorly abopted cryocooler.

Military application in the cryocooler market is expected to hold the largest share from 2017 to 2022

The major factors contributing to the growth of this cryocooler market include the rising adoption of cryocoolers in cooling infrared sensors used in military applications. The cryocoolers are used to cool down the infrared sensors to approximately 80 Kelvin. In addition, the growing demand for night vision surveillance and missile detection from satellites over the last few years has led to the increasing usage of cryocoolers. Moreover, cryocoolers are used in high-end systems and detectors such as missile warning systems, UAVs, miniature payloads, thermal weapon sights, and airborne enhanced vision systems (EVS).

CRYOCOOLER MARKET FOR HARDWARE, BY REGION, (USD MILLION)

Source: Investor Presentation, Secondary Literature, Expert Interviews, and MarketsandMarkets Analysis

Americas expected to account for the largest market share from 2017 to 2022

The cryocooler market in the Americas held the largest share of the global market in 2016, followed by the markets in Europe and APAC. The growth of market in the Americas is mainly driven by factors such as the established military industry and the growing importance of the use of cryocoolers in medical cryosurgery and proton therapy. Also, the rising installation of the cryogenic technology in aircraft carriers is driving the growth of the market in the Americas. North America holds the major share of the cryocooler market in the Americas.

Market Dynamics

Driver: Scarcity of helium gas expected to drive the cryocooler market

Helium is the second-lightest element on the earth. The growing use of helium gas and liquid helium for industrial purposes may lead to the extinction of helium in the next decade. Furthermore, there are studies that have highlighted the growing depletion of helium gas over the past few years. Professor Robert from Cornell University (US) stated that Helium reserves would run out by 2030. Helium is an inert gas and has extremely high melting and boiling points, allowing it to be used in cryogenics, high-energy accelerators, arc welding, silicon wafer manufacturing, etc. In addition, liquid helium is utilized in cryogenics to cool superconducting magnets, with MRI scans being the major commercial application. As a result, helium is getting depleted at a faster rate, increasing the cost. The extraction of helium from air is very difficult and costly, and the cost is going to increase further because of the limited availability of helium reserves in the rocks. It can be completely replaced by a cryocooler. To counter the depleting helium resources, cryocoolers were introduced to generate low temperatures, which were otherwise done by liquid helium. Cryocoolers are increasingly being employed because they do not require cryogens, and they also offer reliable and maintenance-free operations.

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Restraint: Input power consumption of cryocoolers

Power consumption is an important criterion in the designing of cryocoolers. This is mainly dependent on heating load and operating temperature. Overall, cooling capacity and the weight of the cryocooler must be considered when comparing the overall performance of various cryocoolers. Theoretical performance tests by various researchers indicate that the power requirements for a 5-W cryocooler is about 15, 10, 5, and 0.45 kW and the specific weight is about 200, 40, 15, and 1.5 kg/W at cryogenic temperatures of 4.2, 10, 20, and 80 K, respectively. Nevertheless, advancements in cryocoolers have significantly improved input power requirements; this has been made possible by raising the operating temperature from 4.2 K, depending on the refrigerant used and the overall thermal efficiency of the system.

Opportunity: Advancement of cryocoolers for microsatellite military applications

Technological developments with regard to compressors, power units, cold heads, and other major components in cryocoolers allow cryocoolers to be used in a wide range of applications, such as military, oil & gas, energy, semiconductor manufacturing, and medical. Of late, space-qualified cryocoolers are being widely used for large military and commercial satellite electro-optical (EO) infrared (IR) missions. Nevertheless, this is not possible in the case of microsatellites due to the complexity of the thermodynamics and fluid mechanics of the mechanical refrigeration system. The recent trend is to invest in military satellites as these are cheap and responsive, and at the same time perform efficiently. The need for microsat technology mission enablers, such as cryocoolers, has increased. Unfortunately, due to the complex thermodynamic processes, cryocoolers do not scale down linearly. In view of this, research is being conducted at the Spacecraft Component Thermal Research Group, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), to increase the efficiency of space-qualified cryocoolers to reduce size, weight, and power. This increase in efficiency will provide more options, such as better detector sensitivity and signal/noise ratio, for an EO IR microsatellite. Air Liquide�s P-T miniature cryocooler, Raytheon�s P-T cryocooler thermo-mechanical unit, and Northrop Grumman Space Technology�s high frequency coaxial P-T microcooler are some of the miniature cryocoolers that have the potential to meet the needs of military microsatellite.

Challenge: Performance constraint of cryocoolers

Operating temperature, vibration, cooling capacity, field maintenance, refrigeration efficiency, limited flexibility, and reliability are the operating and performance parameters of cryocoolers. Vibrations generated by the refrigeration compressor of cryocoolers have long been identified as a critical integration issue. 4K cryocoolers (both G-M and P-T) suffer from vibrations at the cold stage of as much as 60 microns and thermal fluctuations of about 0.25�0.5 K. Vibrations and thermal fluctuations limit many types of research in closed-cycle refrigerator systems. As cryocoolers are mechanical devices with moving parts, maintenance is required for both the compressor and the cryocooler head. Earlier, Stirling cryocoolers had higher levels of vibration, necessitating maintenance at shorter intervals. However, their mean-time-to-failure (MTTF) of about 4,000 hours (approximately 0.5 year) is short of the required 5�10 years lifetime needed for satellite applications and even 3�5 years lifetime for most commercial applications. Also, achieving high reliability is a key design driver for cryogenic systems to provide continuous cooling. However, continuous research and development activities are being undertaken to provide high-efficiency cryocoolers.

CRYOCOOLER MARKET IN JAPAN AND FOR COMMERCIAL APPLICATION IN APAC HELD THE LARGEST SHARE IN 2016

Source: Investor Presentation, Secondary Literature, Expert Interviews, and MarketsandMarkets Analysis

Scope of the report

Report Metric Details Market size available for years 2014-2022 Base year considered 2016 Forecast period 2017-2022 Forecast units Value (USD Million/ Billion) Segments Covered Hardware and Service, Type, Temperature Range, Heat Exchanger Type, Application, and Region Geographies covered Americas, Europe, APAC, and RoW Companies covered Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. (Japan), Chart Industries, Inc. (US), Brooks Automation, Inc. (US), Sunpower, Inc. (US), Cryomech, Inc. (US), Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), Advanced Research Systems, Inc. (US), DH Industries BV (The Netherlands), Janis Research Company, LLC (US), RICOR � Cryogenic & Vacuum Systems (Israel), Superconductor Technologies, Inc. (US), Air Liquide S.A. (France), Thales Cryogenics (France), Fabrum Solutions Limited (New Zealand), Oxford Cryosystems (UK), Creare LLC (US), L-3 Cincinnati Electronics (US), Stratox (UK), Lihan Technology Co. Ltd. (China), and Tristan Technologies (US)

The research report categorizes the cryocooler market to forecast the revenues and analyze the trends in each of the following sub-segments:

By Hardware & Service:

Hardware Compressors Cold heads Heat dissipation pipes Power conditioning units Others (pressure vessels, feedthrough pipes, service tubes, and vibration absorbers)

Services Technical support services Product repairs & refurbishment services Preventive maintenance services Customer training services



By Type:

Gifford-McMahon cryocoolers

Pulse-Tube cryocoolers

Stirling cryocoolers

Joule Thomson cryocoolers

Brayton cryocoolers

By Temperature Range:

1K�50K

50K�100K

100K�300K

others

By Heat Exchanger Type

Recuperative heat exchangers

Regenerative heat exchangers

By Application:

Military

Medical

Commercial

Environmental

Energy & power

Transport

Mining and metal

Research and development

Space

Agriculture & biology

Others (LNG for peak shaving and superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDS))

By Geography:

Americas

Europe

Asia-Pacific (APAC)

Rest of the World (RoW)

Key Market Players

Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. (Japan), Chart Industries, Inc. (US), Brooks Automation, Inc. (US), Sunpower, Inc. (US), Cryomech, Inc. (US), Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), Advanced Research Systems, Inc. (US), DH Industries BV (The Netherlands), Janis Research Company, LLC (US), RICOR � Cryogenic & Vacuum Systems (Israel), Superconductor Technologies, Inc. (US), Air Liquide S.A. (France), Thales Cryogenics (France), Fabrum Solutions Limited (New Zealand), Oxford Cryosystems (UK), Creare LLC (US), L-3 Cincinnati Electronics (US), Stratox (UK), Lihan Technology Co. Ltd. (China), and Tristan Technologies (US).

Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd. (Japan) is one of the prominent players in the cryocooler market worldwide. It offers a wide range of cryocooler systems and services designed in accordance with customer requirements. Sumitomo focuses on organic and inorganic growth strategies to expand its business offerings. The company is concentrating on business expansion in China, and hence moved to a new and larger facility in Shanghai. It also established a locally domiciled independent corporation in April 2016 as a part of its expansion strategy. The company has developed cryocoolers for MRI applications by offering customers value added proposals over the range of customer business activities, from development and manufacturing to installation of after sales service.

Recent Developments

In November 2016, Sunpower Inc. successfully accomplished the development and delivery of the last eight Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASCs) of total 26 Advanced Stirling Convertors (ASC) to the NASA under the NASA Research Announcement contract.

In November 2016, Brooks Automation, Inc. (U.S.) acquired Cool Lab, LLC (U.S.), a subsidiary of BioCision, LLC. (U.S.). Through this acquisition, Brooks collaborated with BioCision for developing advanced solutions in temperature control, including the CryoPod personal mobile carrier that is capable of maintaining cryogenic temperatures for more than four hours.

In September 2016, Sumitomo (SHI) Cryogenics of America, Inc. announced a strategic partnership with BC Technical (U.S.). This partnership will allow BC Technical to provide higher quality magnet services to its customers with less cryogen use.

In July 2016, Sumitomo (SHI) Cryogenics of America, Inc. announced a joint collaboration with Synergy Systems Corp. (SynSysCo) (US) for the distribution and service of Sumitomo�s products across North America. It will help SHI to reach its customers in North America.

Critical questions the report answers:

Where will all these developments take the industry in the mid- to long-term?

What are the upcoming industry applications of cryocoolers?

Who are the important players in the cryocooler market?

What are the upcoming products and technologies in market?

What are the major drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges for market?

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