EB curing (electron beam curing) has great development potential, but currently the cost is high and the market size is small.

EB means electron beam, and EB curing means electron beam curing. It is a type of radiation curing technology. High-energy electron beams directly interact with the system to be cured to cause polymerization, grafting or cross-linking reactions, thereby curing the material. . EB curing can be widely used in the printing and coating fields. It has the characteristics of low carbon dioxide and organic volatile emissions and excellent environmental protection.

Radiation curing technology mainly includes UV light curing and EB curing, both of which use energy irradiation to react and solidify liquid materials quickly. Because radiation curing has less environmental pollution than traditional thermal curing, its popularity is rising rapidly in the context of energy conservation, emission reduction, and sustainable development. Among them, UV light curing uses ultraviolet (UV) as irradiation energy. It has the advantages of relatively stable reaction and small equipment investment scale. It is widely used and is the mainstream radiation curing technology at this stage, accounting for about 90%.

However, UV light curing has the disadvantages of poor penetration and easy incomplete curing, and the curing material needs to add a photoinitiator, which easily fails to react completely and remains, which is harmful in the fields of children’s products, food and other fields. According to the “2022-2026 EB Curing (Electron Beam Curing) Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report” released by the Industrial Research CenterIt shows that in comparison, EB curing can achieve deep curing, faster curing and complete curing, and there is no need to add a photoinitiator to the cured material. It is highly safe and can be used in a wider range of applications. In the context of the global market’s increasing attention to the safety of food, children’s products and other products with long-term contact, the EB curing market has greater potential.

​But EB curing costs are high. From an equipment perspective, EB curing requires the development of professional curing equipment, which is expensive and has high maintenance costs; from an operational perspective, the EB curing process needs to be carried out in an inert gas environment, which increases the cost of use; from a consumable perspective It seems that EB curing materials use EB ink. Although there is no need to add a photoinitiator, it has higher purity requirements for other component materials, and other high value-added materials will be added, making the product price high. Therefore, in general, EB curing costs are high and the market size is small globally.

Due to the small market demand, at this stage, there are only a few companies that develop and produce EB curing equipment and EB ink in my country. However, in the field of printing and coating, EB curing has outstanding advantages such as curing quality, curing efficiency, and safety. The cost advantage will become apparent in large-scale curing. With the continuous advancement of science and technology, EB curing equipment and EB ink production technology will become increasingly popular. As it matures, costs are expected to continue to decline. In the short term, EB curing is difficult to compete with UV light curing, but in the long term, EB curing has greater development prospects.

Industry analysts said that at present, companies with capital, R&D, and technical strength can enter the EB curing industry layout, but due to the short term The EB curing market is small, and it is difficult for companies to recover costs after investing a lot of manpower, material and financial resources, and the development risks are high. EB curing market awareness needs to continue to increase. In the future, as costs continue to decline, EB curing is expected to gradually gain market recognition due to its excellent performance. Companies that are the first to enter the industry layout and have mature EB curing products will have first-mover advantages.