Market

Market development for LPG Composite Cylinder

In the world are 1.6 billion LPG Cylinders in use and the replacement market alone is 60 mil. cylinders per annum.

However, if you consider the growth potential due to poverty help programs supported by WLPGA, and the Government Petrol to LPG conversion programs, then annual cylinder demand is far greater. For example in Indonesia the Government launched its Petrol to LPG conversion program few years ago where they have distributed 110 mil. LPG cylinders of 3 kg by end of 2010!

In our modern world the behaviour of the cylinder end user has changed to buying SAFE PRODUCTS, modern design, easy handling and environment friendly products! With rising steel prices the price gap between steel cylinder and composite cylinder is getting very close or even in favour of composite cylinders. Several recent articles in the Steel Business Brief all point towards steel prices rising by some 30-40% due to increased iron ore and coking materials.

The LPG steel cylinder industry is facing its greatest challenge since 100 years due to the fact that Composite LPG Cylinder became commercially viable. Manufacturing technology for Composite LPG Cylinders is available since decades but the breakthrough came by reduced component costs for the resin, glass fibers, winding software with computer simulation and filament winding machines. Today composite materials are used in our daily life in automotive application, household application, sports industry, construction, medical applications and this list goes on and on, which made composite materials through mass consumption available at very competitive prices!

Lucintel (www.lucintel.com) has analyzed the global composite cylinders market and published a comprehensive research report, Growth Opportunities in Global Composite Cylinders Market 2010-2015: Trends, Forecast and Market Share Analysis.


The global cylinders industry has witnessed a gradual shift from the type I steel cylinders to an increased usage of composite cylinders in various segments, with the composite cylinders market experiencing growth in support of an end product market reaching $1223 million by 2015. Composites consumption in the cylinders market is expected to witness a double-digit growth rate from 2010-2015 with growing application segments and regional shift.

In the last five years, production of natural gas vehicles (NGVs) rose by more than 20%, and the growth rate is expected to be the same in the next few years. The composite cylinders, though little more expensive than its traditional counterparts, has a promising future because of its weight savings, capacity advantage and other performance benefits. Metal cylinders can explode when coming contact with hazardous materials, fire or toxic fumes, but composite cylinders would rupture rather than explode. 

Composite cylinders are having major applications in the transportation industry. Light weight composite cylinders provide easy portability to ambulatory patient, firemen, SCUBA divers & also increases fuel efficiency in NGVs. 

Lucintel believes that the availability of substitute materials for composite cylinders do not provide a ceiling on industry profitability since composite products are continually growing, as compared to alternate products, on a cost/performance basis.