Growth Opportunities for Personal Protective Equipment in Global Electric Vehicles

Growth Opportunities for Personal Protective Equipment in Global Electric Vehicles

This research presents an assessment of the current status of and future prospects for personal protective equipment (PPE) in the global electric vehicles (EVs) industry. Revenue forecasts and analyses cover 4 regions: North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Rest of the World ([ROW] Middle East, Africa, and Latin America). This study quantifies the revenue generated from PPE sold into the global EVs industry between 2018 and 2026. Revenue is recorded in US dollars ($) and is accounted for at the manufacturer level.

The inherent complexity associated with EV-specific components, including battery-packs and high-voltage lines, exposes workers to significant incremental occupational safety hazards across the value chain. For the purposes of this research, PPE in the EVs industry is classified as a product that is worn to protect the worker from hazards (thermal, electrical, and chemical, among others). The product segments include above the neck protection, respiratory protection, protective clothing, hand protection, foot protection, fall protection, and gas detection. The analysis focuses on both conventionally used offerings and those that will increasingly become the norm, owing to a shift in vehicle architecture and changes in both components and materials used across the value chain.

The highly regulated automotive industry is characterized by well-established safety practices, standard operating procedures, guidelines, and standards. However, the pronounced shift toward eMobility involves, among other things, adapting the existing assembly lines and accommodating and/or replacing certain conventional operations (engine and exhaust system assembly) with those that involve the handling and/or assembling of high-voltage battery packs.

This shift in vehicle powertrain architecture will augur well for higher-value PPE, such as insulated rubber gloves and arc flash protective clothing, among others. While automotive manufacturing/assembly operations dominate the demand for PPE in the EVs industry, the nearly four-fold increase in global EV parc coupled with proliferation of charging stations will offer robust growth opportunity in the aftermarket repair and maintenance segment.

In terms of revenue, the foot protection and hand protection segments collectively composed 53.3% of the total estimated market revenue in 2021. Moreover, the latter will register the fastest revenue growth rate during the forecast period, driven primarily by the need for insulating gloves mandated for use while handling high-voltage components.

Geographically, APAC dominates both supply and demand for EVs as well as capacities across the value chain, but the need for self-reliance in the EV value chain has prompted the European Union to adopt an aggressive blueprint to strengthen it capabilities across the value chain.

Frost & Sullivan analysis indicates that the global PPE in EVs industry is slated to register robust double-digit growth of about 25.1% in terms of revenue from 2021 to 2026.