Top 17 Membranes Companies, Worldwide 2023

The Membranes Companies quadrant is a comprehensive industry analysis that provides valuable insights into the global market for Membranes. This quadrant offers a detailed evaluation of key market players, technological advancements, product innovations, and industry trends. MarketsandMarkets 360 Quadrants evaluated over 100 Membranes Companies of which the Top 17 Membranes Companies were categorised and recognized as the quadrant leaders.

Membranes are filtration elements that are used in the separation process to clean water or other liquids. They are physical barrier materials that, depending on their physical or chemical qualities, allow specific molecules to flow through. During the filtration process, they allow certain elements to pass while retaining others. Membrane filtration is an effective and cost-effective way of purifying liquids. Membranes are typically made up of a porous support layer with a thin dense layer above that serves as the separating barrier. Polymers such as polyvinyl difluoride (PVDF), polyethersulfones (PES), and polyamides (PA) are among the materials used to make membranes. Membranes are also made of ceramics such as alumina, titania, and zirconia.

Membranes are employed in many different processes, including reverse osmosis (RO), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), microfiltration (MF), and others (pervaporation, dialysis and electrodialysis, forward osmosis, membrane distillation, and ion exchange). Membranes are used in a range of industries such as food and beverage, chemical and petrochemical, pharmaceutical, textile, pulp and paper, oil and gas, and others.

The 360 Quadrant efficiently maps the Membranes companies based on criteria such as revenue, geographic presence, growth strategies, investments, channels of demand, and sales strategies for the market presence of the membranes quadrant. While the top criteria for product footprint evaluation included By Material (Polymeric and Ceramic), Technology (RO, MF, UF and NF) and application.

 Key trends highlighted in 360 Quadrants:

• The market for membranes was valued at USD 6.9 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow to USD 10.1 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 9.7%. Water and wastewater treatment applications are where membranes are most frequently employed. The membranes market is being driven by factors like rising consumer awareness of water and wastewater treatment, strict government restrictions on water treatment and the environment, and rising demand from end-use industries.
• Another important factor that is driving the growth of membranes companies is modifying their membrane portfolio to meet the demand of end-user industries. In March 2021, DuPont announced the introduction of a new pre-treatment technology that removes the effects of biofouling in Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems to decrease operational costs and boost plant availability and performance. With this new patent-pending technology, DuPont continued demonstrating innovation leadership and commitment to solve customer water challenges.
• Based on the material, membranes are divided into polymeric, ceramic, and other types.  Polymeric segment is the largest segment of the membranes market, with a market share of 84% in 2022 in terms of value. Commercialized polymeric membranes are most frequently employed in water and wastewater treatment applications. Some of the notable membranes companies in the domain include Dupont, Toray, Hydranautics, Veolia and others.
• Based on technology, the RO segment accounted for the highest share 50% in terms of value in 2022. Due to the widespread application of RO membranes in desalination applications, this market is expanding because of the rising demand for clean, freshwater around the world, which saltwater treatment can only provide.
• Membrane-based water treatment produces high-quality effluents that adhere to various effluent guidelines. Membrane use in municipal and industrial water & wastewater treatment plants has increased because of strict regulatory restrictions for water quality.
• The membranes market is witnessing high demand from applications such as water and wastewater treatment in the Asia Pacific. Additionally, the demand for wastewater treatment facilities and membranes is expanding because of population growth, urbanisation, and rapid industrial and infrastructure development of membranes companies in the region.
• Another primary reason for driving the growth of membranes companies is the increased demand for water treatment technology. In March 2021, A shareholding acquisition of Pall-Austar Lifesciences Limited, a joint venture (JV) founded by Pall and Austar, was completed by Pall Corporation, an operational company within Danaher Corporation's Life Sciences platform for filtration, separation, and purification technologies.  This acquisition will increase production capacity to primarily satisfy China's COVID-19-driven need for single-use technology supply chains.
• Asia Pacific is the largest market for membranes companies in terms of value. Asia Pacific is a desirable location for investors to establish manufacturing facilities due to the simplicity of finding workers at reduced costs. Due to low manufacturing prices and local governments' backing, manufacturing activities have seen a tremendous increase. One of the factors influencing the market in Asia Pacific is a rise in R&D investments.
• Countries such as China, India, Brazil are growing for membranes companies. In January 2023, In order to provide industrial customers in North America with anaerobic wastewater treatment technology, Koch Separation Solutions (KSS) and Aqana have inked a partnership agreement. Customers will be able to make use of moving bed biofilm reactors (MBBR), membrane bioreactors (MBR), and reverse osmosis (RO) to satisfy the demands of a variety of industrial wastewater treatment issues because of the combined knowledge of Aqana and KSS.
• There are a significant number of global membranes companies in this market, with top players like DuPont (US), Koch Separation Solutions (US), Mann+Hummel (Germany), Toray Industries Inc. (Japan), Hydranautics (US), Pentair (UK), 3M (US), Asahi Kasei Corporation (Japan), Pall Corporation (US), and LG Chem Ltd. (South Korea) and others.
• The leading market players adopted mergers, partnerships, collaborations, and acquisitions as the key strategies due to intense competition in the market. Some membranes companies are focusing on launching new technologies and expanding their business in emerging regions. In 2022, VNA acquired Suez Water Technologies and Solutions, a manufacturer of mobile water treatment systems. It was formerly known as GE Water and Process Technologies. Ice-pigging devices, analyzers, instruments, accelerator clarifiers, gravity oil and water separators, vacuum degassers, spiral wound membranes, ozone systems, and other products are included in the company's equipment and system lineup.
• Membranes companies make investments such as product launches, to offer their experience in membranes and extensive industry knowledge. For example, Toray Industries, Inc. created the TBW-HR line of ultralow-pressure reverse osmosis (RO) membrane components in March 2022. By manipulating the RO membrane micropore diameters and membrane architectures, the novel products enhance the rejection of boron, silica, and other neutral chemicals from untreated water.
• Membranes companies are also focused on building strategies to address the demands of wastewater technologies. Asahi Kasei focuses on technological innovation and R&D, and its strength lies in the diverse variety of business models based on its wide range of innovative technologies. With a foundation in chemical technology, the company has established many core technologies through broad technological combinations throughout its business diversification.