Forecast of the segmented market size and downstream application prospects of the soft magnetic materials industry in 2024

1. Analysis and prediction of the segmented market size and downstream application prospects of the soft magnetic materials industry in 2024. Magnetic materials are fundamental materials closely related to national economic production and development, and have been widely used in fields such as electronics and power, information technology, energy and transportation, mechanical engineering, national defense and military industry. Magnetic materials generally refer to strong magnetic substances composed of transition elements such as iron, cobalt, nickel, manganese, zinc, and their alloys. According to their different magnetic properties, magnetic materials can be mainly divided into permanent magnetic materials, soft magnetic materials, as well as other functional magnetic materials such as moment magnetic, spin magnetic, and pressure magnetic. Permanent magnet materials have high coercivity and are difficult to magnetize. If magnetized, they are also difficult to demagnetize; Soft magnetic materials have low coercivity and high magnetic permeability, making them easier to magnetize and demagnetize compared to permanent magnetic materials. They are commonly used in the manufacture of various magnetic devices such as transformers and inductors to achieve functions such as power conversion, interference suppression, and signal transmission. According to the different materials and structures, soft magnetic materials can be divided into ferrite soft magnetic materials, metal soft magnetic materials, and other soft magnetic materials. Various soft magnetic materials have their own advantages and disadvantages in terms of performance, and they complement each other in application.

(1) The market for ferrite soft magnetic materials. Ferrite is an oxide soft magnetic material made from oxides such as iron, manganese, zinc, and nickel using ceramic technology. It is used as the magnetic core of magnetic devices such as inductors and transformers. Its characteristics are high initial magnetic permeability and high resistivity, resulting in low internal induced eddy current losses in high-frequency environments, making it suitable for use in broadband environments ranging from tens of kilohertz to hundreds of megahertz; And it is easy to process into various shapes, has a hard texture, is resistant to acid and alkali corrosion, and is suitable for manufacturing various transformers, inductors, etc. Ferrite soft magnetic materials can be classified into various types based on their composition, such as manganese zinc, nickel zinc, magnesium zinc, etc. The market size of China's soft magnetic ferrite industry has grown from 7.18 billion yuan in 2019 to 12.06 billion yuan in 2023, with an average annual compound growth rate of 13.8%, far higher than the global growth rate. In the domestic soft magnetic ferrite market in 2023, manganese zinc ferrite production accounted for the highest proportion, at 69%, nickel zinc ferrite production accounted for 11%, and magnesium zinc ferrite accounted for about 8%.

（2) Market of Metal Soft Magnetic Materials

Metal soft magnetic materials are composed of metals such as iron, nickel, aluminum, nickel, molybdenum, silicon, and metalloid elements and their alloys. Mainly including traditional metal soft magnetic materials, metal magnetic powder cores, amorphous and nanocrystalline alloy soft magnets, etc.

Definition and main characteristics of various metal soft magnetic materials

The main powder production methods for metal magnetic powder cores include mechanical crushing, water atomization, and gas atomization. Metal magnetic powder cores can be classified into various types based on their composition, such as iron, iron silicon, iron silicon aluminum, iron nickel, and iron nickel molybdenum.

In 2023, the global sales of metal magnetic powder cores will reach approximately 830 million US dollars, and it is expected to reach approximately 2.45 billion US dollars by 2030, with an average annual compound growth rate of approximately 16.7% from 2023 to 2030.

2. Market analysis and prediction of downstream major segmented application areas in the soft magnetic materials industry

(1) Overview of Direct Downstream Market Development

On a global scale, with the booming development of terminal applications such as photovoltaics and energy storage, new energy charging facilities, vehicle electronics, communication and data centers, industrial automation, medical equipment, etc., the global transformer and inductor markets are also maintaining strong growth.

In the domestic market, the electronic components industry, including magnetic devices such as transformers and inductors, has maintained steady growth in recent years. According to the "14th Five Year Plan for the Development of China's Electronic Components Industry", from 2015 to 2020, the overall sales revenue of China's electronic components industry increased from 1.4935 trillion yuan to 1.8831 trillion yuan, with an average annual compound growth rate of about 4.75%. China has formed the world's largest production and sales scale, relatively complete categories, and basically complete industrial chain of electronic components industry system. The overall scale of the electronic components industry is about 2.1641 trillion yuan in 2023.

(2) Overview of downstream market development in major terminals: 1) Soft magnetic products represented by ferrite soft magnets are mainly used in the production of magnetic devices such as transformers and inductors in photovoltaic inverters and energy storage inverters in the photovoltaic and energy storage industry. Photovoltaic inverters are the core equipment of photovoltaic power generation systems, which can convert the direct current generated by photovoltaic modules into alternating current with electrical energy quality that meets grid connection standards. The performance of photovoltaic inverters directly affects the power generation efficiency and operational stability of photovoltaic power generation systems. The structure of an energy storage inverter is similar to that of a photovoltaic inverter. Its main function is to achieve bidirectional conversion and flow of electrical energy between the battery and the grid as needed. It is the core equipment of an energy storage system, and its performance directly affects the operational efficiency and stability of the energy storage system. According to the matching ratio of photovoltaic modules and inverters, photovoltaic inverters can be divided into centralized inverters, string inverters, and micro inverters from high to low. The string inverter has a wide power range and is compatible with distributed and centralized power generation scenarios. It has a certain cost advantage in high-power application scenarios. The main soft magnetic raw material for its boost inductor is metal magnetic powder core. Micro inverters achieve voltage boosting and isolation through the main transformer, electrically isolating photovoltaic modules from the grid and minimizing safety hazards on the DC side during use and operation. The magnetic material used in the main transformer is a soft ferrite core. Compared to string inverters that require additional component breakers, micro inverters have demonstrated better comprehensive advantages in cost, safety, and other aspects in the construction of photovoltaic power plants in the power range below 10kW. Its penetration rate is steadily increasing, and it is expected to have broad market prospects in the future. Due to the fact that China has not yet officially implemented mandatory safety standards for module level shutdown in distributed photovoltaics, the domestic penetration rate of micro inverters is relatively low. The safety and economic advantages of micro inverters in China's photovoltaic market will become apparent, and the domestic market is expected to become a new growth point for the micro inverter market in the future.

In the next few years, the global installed capacity of photovoltaics will enter a period of rapid growth, reaching 436GW-516GW by 2030. Based on the background of "peak carbon emissions by 2030" and "carbon neutrality by 2060", the photovoltaic industry has broad long-term growth potential. It is expected that between 2023 and 2030, China's average annual new photovoltaic installed capacity will exceed 100GW.

Under the dual trend of increasing security requirements and gradually emerging micro inverter economy in various countries' policies, the micro inverter market has broad prospects.

The popularization of photovoltaics in the global market is on the rise. From the perspective of policy guidance in various countries, the development of high security distributed photovoltaic power generation will become an important trend in the future development of the photovoltaic industry. Among them, micro inverters that combine high safety and cost-effectiveness are expected to experience a booming growth in market size.

2) Automotive Electronics and Charging Infrastructure Industry

Soft magnetic materials are key raw materials in the automotive electronics industry, which can be used for core magnetic components such as transformers, boost/buck inductors, PFC inductors, filter inductors, etc. in key electronic devices such as on-board chargers (OBC), on-board DC-DC converters, and on-board inverters; It is also a key raw material for the new energy vehicle charging infrastructure industry, which can be used to produce core magnetic components such as charging pile power transformers, filter inductors, etc.

Electrification, intelligence, and networking have become important driving forces for the development of the automotive industry. The overall sales of new energy vehicles and the increase in the number of electronic devices per vehicle, as well as the growing demand for supporting charging infrastructure, have jointly driven the growth of demand for soft magnetic materials.

3) Communication and Data Center Industry

5G communication presents a development trend of high frequency, high speed, and large capacity. The power density of 5G base station power supply and server power supply systems is high, requiring soft magnetic materials to have a high saturation magnetic flux density, suitable for high power density, high-efficiency power conversion devices, and good low-power characteristics over a wide range of frequencies, temperatures, and humidity. Driven by the construction of global 5G base stations and data centers, the market prospects for high-performance soft magnetic materials are promising.

Domestically, driven by favorable factors such as national policy support and increased demand from enterprises, the size of China's data center market continues to grow rapidly. By 2023, the size of China's data center market will reach around 250 billion yuan.

With the promotion of national digital economy construction, the field of 5G communication and data centers will continue to maintain high-speed growth, and the development of communication technology will also drive the replacement of base station construction and the increase in demand for supporting soft magnetic materials.

For more industry information, please refer to the "2024-2030 Soft Magnetic Materials Industry Chain Segmentation Product Research and Prospect Research Forecast Report" by PwC Youce Consulting. PwC Youce Consulting also provides industry research reports, industry chain consulting, project feasibility reports, specialized and new small giant certification, market share reports, 14th Five Year Plan, project post evaluation reports, BP business plan, industry map, industry planning, blue white paper, national manufacturing industry single champion enterprise certification, IPO fundraising feasibility study, IPO working paper consultation and other services.