Clean Room Robot Market Insights, Trends, Opportunity & Forecast (Includes Business Impact of COVID-19)

An industrial cleanroom is a room which controls and prevents levels of dust, airborne particles, vapors, and moisture from entering and contaminating the equipment’s and the room. Specialized cleanroom robots are often used to lessen or remove any additional contamination and are required to meet specific cleanroom standards. They are generally utilized in pharmaceutical and medical cleanroom submissions where human contact requires to be minimized. Automating cleanroom processes aid in increasing production volume, reducing cycle times, and decreasing manufacturers' costs among other advantages.

Depending on harness requirements and application, cleanroom robots can be selected but they all must meet strict cleanroom certifications.

The demand for clean room robots is increasing at a stupendous rate with the growth of various industries including Aerospace, Electrical and Electronics, Plastics, Rubber & Chemicals, Food & Beverages, Pharmaceuticals & Cosmetics, and Optics.

The global clean room robot market (including prices of peripherals, software, and system engineering) is expected to grow from USD 4.5 billion in 2020 to USD over 8.6 billion by 2025; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 12.5% during the term of 5 years.

MARKET DRIVERS:

The growth of this market is attributed towards major relying factors including; the increasing demand for clean room robots from electronics & electrical industry, the globally increasing hygiene standards, the surging demand for clean room robots due to the COVID-19 outbreak in industries such as food & beverages and pharmaceutical, the high demand for contaminant-free machines and equipment in clean rooms, increase in need to pass goods and materials between areas of different environmental grades through material air locks (MAL) and the increase in adoption of collaborative robots for clean room applications etc.

Additionally, the measures and guidelines implemented by several government organizations for hygiene standards have further compelled the companies to adopt clean room robots. For example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that the areas immediately adjacent to the aseptic processing line meet at least ISO Class 7 standards under dynamic conditions in the pharmaceutical industry.  These guidelines ensure safety and enhance the growth of this market at a considerable rate.

Moreover, the ever-increasing demand and usage of smart devices, wireless, and cloud technology influence the future of robots in terms of range of utility and mode of operation. Key players today are presenting appealing options, such as services and control modules, through smart devices and Wi-Fi technology for industrial robots, including cleanroom robots from remote locations. These developments of IoT and technological enhancements in robotics are set to create ample opportunities for the growth of this market in the next few upcoming years.

Furthermore, due to the recent outbreak of COVID-19, many organizations and companies are facing shortage of skilled workforce in manufacturing unit and other workplaces. To address this mounting issue for the future and to reduce dependency on humans for operation, the adoption of clean-room robots is set to increase drastically in the foreseeable future, thus, propelling the growth opportunities for this market comprehensively.

However, the high system engineering, installation, and maintenance cost of industrial clean room robots, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises and the inter-operability and integration issues with industrial robots restrain the growth of this market.

CLEAN ROOM ROBOT MARKET SEGMENTATION:

By Type:

• Articulated Robots
• SCARA Robots
• Parallel Robots
• Cartesian Robots
• Collaborative Robots

By Component:

• Robotic Arm
• End Effectors
  • Grippers
  • Vacuum Cups
  • Clamps
• Drives
  • Pneumatic
  • Electric
• Controllers
• Sensors
• Power Supply
• Motors
• Others

By End User:

• Aerospace
• Electrical and Electronics
• Plastics, Rubber, and Chemicals
• Food and Beverages
• Optics
• Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics
• Others

By Region:

• North America (U.S. & Canada)
• Europe (Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Russia and Rest of Europe)
• Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and Rest of Asia Pacific)
• Latin America (Brazil, Mexico and Rest of Latin America)
• Middle East & Africa (GCC (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman), North Africa, South Africa and Rest of Middle East & Africa)

REGIONAL INSIGHT:

The Asia Pacific region is the fastest growing regional market for clean room robots and is anticipated to witness steep rise in growth in the upcoming years. The growth in this region can be attributed to the tremendous demand for clean room robots in the manufacturing of fiber optics from the telecommunication industry, the growing IT industry due to the availability of cheap labor, the growing population, the rapidly booming food & beverage and electronics industry and the presence of largest robot manufacturing countries such as Japan, China etc. The major contributors in the region are India, Japan and China.

FEW KEY PLAYERS IN CLEAN ROOM ROBOT MARKET:

• Rethink Robotics
• Denso Wave Incorporated
• Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd.
• Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
• Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp.
• Omron Corporation
• Abb
• Aerotech
• Iai
• Staubli
• Comau
• Yamaha
• Hirata
• Fanuc
• Kuka
• Epson
• Universal Robots
• S T Robotics
• Techman Robot
• Seiko Epson Corporation
• Yaskawa Electric Corporation
• Other Players

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:

• In August 2019, KUKA launched a mobile clean room robot for the manufacture of semiconductor wafers. The mobile robot helps in the transfer of wafers from one step to another. The mobile manipulation application consists of a standardized automated guided vehicle (AGV) and the proven LBR iiwa lightweight robot.
• In October 2020, ABB introduced cleanroom version of IRB 1100 robot (certified to ISO 14644-1) suitable for applications in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, electronics, semiconductors, and solar panel manufacturing.