Electric Propulsion Systems Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Class (Gridded Ion Engine, Hall Effect Thruster, High Efficiency Multistage Plasma Thruster, Pulsed Plasma Thruster, Others), By Application (Spacecraft, Satellite) and By Region(North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, LATAM) Forecasts, 2024-2032

Market Overview

The Electric Propulsion Systems Market revenue size was valued at USD 4.91 billion in 2023. It is estimated to reach USD 10.01 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 8.66% during the forecast period (2024–2032).

Electric propulsion (EP) is a type of space propulsion that uses electricity to accelerate a propellant using various electrical and/or magnetic techniques. Compared to conventional chemical thrusters, the EP thrusters' propulsive performance improved using electrical power. Electric propulsion, unlike chemical methods, requires extremely little bulk to accelerate a spaceship. The propellant is expelled up to twenty times quicker than in a traditional chemical thruster, resulting in a far more mass-efficient overall system.

Compared to chemical propulsion, electric propulsion has no energy limitations and is only restricted by the amount of electrical power available onboard the spaceship. EP is therefore well suited to low-thrust (micro and mill newton) long-duration applications onboard spacecraft. EP thrusters employ a variety of propellants, including rare gases (such as xenon or argon), liquid metals, and, in some situations, conventional propellants.

Market Dynamics

Increasing Expenditure on Space Activities to Fuel the Demand for Electric Propulsion Systems Industry

The global market has seen a tremendous increase in space activity. Several governments throughout the world have been investing large sums of money in different space initiatives, including satellite and spacecraft launches for planet observation, exploration, communications, weather monitoring, and military, among other things.

Seven new Earth observation satellites were launched between January and March 2024, INSAT-3DS, PACE, GHOSt, MethaneSAT, BRO, Capella Space X-Band SAR, Planet and SpIRIT These were seven recent launches. A series of tests for Gaganyaan have been planned and out of which some of the tests incl. first test vehicle to re-entry and recover the crew module safely are completed.

In 2024, NASA will launch Europa Clipper, which will explore one of Jupiter’s largest moons, Europa. NASA also has a plan for launch of Artemis II, part of NASA's Artemis program, is a crewed lunar mission set to orbit the Moon, marking humanity's return since 1972.

Further, The Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, has a robotic mission in development called the Martian Moon eXploration, or MMX, planned for launch around September 2024.

In August 2023, ISRO successfully launched the Chandrayan-3 mission and just after a few months, ISRO successfully launched Aditya L1 spacecraft to study the Sun and its effect in heliosphere. ISRO demonstrated the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) for future human space programms.

China's space development is set to witness new milestones in 2024 with around 100 orbital launches expected to take place, setting a new record and accelerating the networking and construction of multiple satellite constellations.

Regional Analysis

Significant Growth in North America and Europe

Based on region, the market is divided into the following categories: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and South America, Middle East and Africa. On the other hand, North America is expected to dominate the global market due to the large number of space agencies in the region and the large amount of money spent on space-related activities.

North America is dominating the global electric propulsion systems market. In this regard, the United States has the largest market share.

In 2023, the United States government spent more than USD 73.2 billion on space-related activities. With each passing year, the country's expenditure on such activities grows in proportion to the amount of money spent. NASA will receive $25.4 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2023. This is roughly $1.3 billion more than NASA received in 2022, an increase of 5.6%. High inflation and growing labor costs will mitigate the purchasing power of this increase. The President's FY 2023 budget request for NASA proposed nearly $26 billion, an 8% increase. However, its global share has gradually decreased from around 75% in 2000 to 63% in 2023, as other nations have increased their financial efforts in the sector.

Europe is the second-largest market for electric propulsion systems after the United States. Manufacturers of electric propulsion systems have established a significant presence in the region. During the previous several years, the region has seen a substantial increase in the development of its system of governance. Until 2020, the area was heavily reliant on HET, GIE, and HEMPT technologies across a wide range of space operations. Artemis, SMART-1, GOCE, AlphaSat, Bepi Colombo, SmallGeo, NEOSat, and Electra are just a few of the space missions that have made use of electric propulsion systems, among many more.

While Europe has maintained consistent importance, Asia’s share of global spending has nearly doubled since the early 2000s, driven by China’s substantial investments in the sector. Over the past few years, a new rationale has emerged, with countries seeking to secure a share of the expanding commercial revenues generated by the space industry for their industries. This trend is notably visible in Asia, with new initiatives undertaken in New Zealand and Australia, as well as in the Middle East, where various Gulf countries have recently shown a growing interest in space activities.

Segmental Analysis

Based on type, the global electric propulsion systems industry is categorized into gridded ion engine, hall effect thruster, high-efficiency multistage plasma thruster, pulsed plasma thruster, and others being the most common. HET is a form of the electric propulsion system in which a powerful magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of travel is employed instead of a grid system. Electrons are trapped in an azimuthal hall current that circulates the circle of an annular ceramic channel due to the magnetic field created. The electron then ionizes the onboard propellant, resulting in the formation of ionized plasma.

It is necessary to accelerate the ionized plasma using an applied electric field to generate thrust, which is accomplished by creating exist velocity of up to 65,000 miles per hour. The contact between the downstream edge of the channel and the accelerating plasma, on the other hand, erodes the surrounding magnetic system, which is principally responsible for plasma generation.

The global market for spacecraft and satellites is divided into two categories based on their application. The satellite part of the market accounts for a large portion of the total. By 2030, it is predicted to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.68 %.

Impact of covid-19

COVID-19 had prompted the World Health Organization to proclaim a worldwide pandemic for public health emergency in March 2020. The pandemic began in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and quickly escalated from a localized catastrophe to a global pandemic. Several well-known biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical companies, small businesses, and startups have developed effective therapies for coronavirus infection. 

Currently, no particular medications for their therapy have been authorized. On the other hand, convalescent plasma (CP) treatment has been shown to improve the survival rate of COVID-19 infected patients based on favorable results from various clinical trials. As a result, federal authorities in nations such as the United States and India are coming forward to provide plasma treatment to patients as quickly as feasible while conducting clinical trials to assess the safety and effectiveness of this therapy. For example,

• In May 2020, the National Agency for Medicines and Health Product Safety (ANSM) in France ruled that immune plasma therapy could be used to treat severely sick COVID-19 patients.
• In April 2020, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) approved establishing a protocol for convalescent plasma therapy trials to treat highly sick COVID-19 patients at the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST India).

Recent Developments

• April 2024- NASA has developed an advanced propulsion technology to facilitate future planetary exploration missions using small spacecraft. Not only will this technology enable new types of planetary science missions, one of NASA’s commercial partners is already preparing to use it for another purpose—to extend the lifetimes of spacecraft that are already in orbit. Identifying the opportunity for industry to use this new technology not only advances NASA’s goal of technology commercialization, it could potentially create a path for NASA to acquire this important technology from industry for use in future planetary missions.
• March 2024- the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) revealed a plan to demonstrate the use of an indigenously built electric propulsion system on a satellite later this year. The system, featuring a 300-millinewton (mN) thruster, will be demonstrated on board a Technology Demonstration Satellite (TDS-01) that is expected to be launched in the second half of 2024.