Under the background of "carbon neutrality", the market demand for neodymium iron boron permanent magnets will burst

Neodymium iron boron permanent magnet material is a kind of rare earth permanent magnet material. Since its discovery, neodymium iron boron permanent magnet material has been widely used in wind power generation, energy-saving motors, smart home appliances, speakers, new energy vehicles and auto parts, intelligent consumer electronics, industrial robots, electric tools, instruments and meters and other fields because of its excellent magnetic properties and can be produced in large quantities. It is divided into upstream industry, midstream industry and downstream industry.

1、 Industrial chain structure

Neodymium iron boron permanent magnet material is a kind of rare earth permanent magnet material. Since its discovery, neodymium iron boron permanent magnet material has been widely used in wind power generation, energy-saving motors, smart home appliances, speakers, new energy vehicles and auto parts, intelligent consumer electronics, industrial robots, electric tools, instruments and meters and other fields because of its excellent magnetic properties and can be produced in large quantities. It is divided into upstream industry, midstream industry and downstream industry.

2、 Upstream industry
 

The upstream industries of neodymium iron boron permanent magnet industry include rare earth industry, industrial equipment production industry, chemical industry, etc. among them, the situation of rare earth industry has an important impact on the production of neodymium iron boron permanent magnet.
 
Global rare earth mining has increased year by year. In recent years, China's share in the total amount of rare earth mining in the world has declined, but China is still the world's largest rare earth mining country.
In 2021, China's rare earth mining output still accounted for 60% of the global mining output, an increase of 20% year-on-year. In 2021, the global rare earth mining volume was 280000 tons, an increase of 16.67% year-on-year.

Global rare earth mining from 2014 to 2021 (10000 tons)

From 2016 to 2021, China's rare earth mining volume and rare earth smelting and separation volume both showed an increasing trend. In 2021, China's rare earth mining volume was 168000 tons, an increase of 20% year-on-year; The separation volume of rare earth smelting was 162000 tons, an increase of 20% year-on-year.

Rare earth mining and smelting separation in China from 2016 to 2021

On January 27, 2022, the Ministry of industry and information technology issued the first batch of total control indicators for rare earth mining and smelting separation in 2022, which were 108000 tons and 97200 tons respectively, an increase of 20% year-on-year.

3、 Midstream industry

Among them, in terms of rare earth magnetic materials, the output of sintered neodymium iron boron blanks was 207100 tons, an increase of 16% year-on-year; The output of bonded neodymium iron boron was 9380 tons, an increase of 27.2% year-on-year.
From 2018 to 2021, the market demand for neodymium iron boron permanent magnets in China increased year by year, and the import volume of neodymium iron boron permanent magnets in China accounted for only about 3.5% of the market. In 2021, the apparent demand of China's neodymium iron boron permanent magnet market reached 219100 tons, an increase of 11.80% year-on-year.
Market demand and import proportion of neodymium iron boron permanent magnets in China from 2018 to 2021 (10000 tons)

From 2018 to 2021, the output of neodymium iron boron permanent magnets in China tends to increase year by year. According to the data of the Ministry of industry and information technology, in 2021, the output of China's main rare earth functional materials maintained a steady growth. The total output of neodymium iron boron permanent magnets was 219400 tons, an increase of 11.82% year-on-year; The output of sintered NdFeB blanks was 207100 tons, an increase of 16.00% year-on-year, accounting for 94.39% of the total output of NdFeB permanent magnets in China; The output of bonded neodymium iron boron was 9400 tons, with a year-on-year increase of 27.20%. In the first quarter of 2022, the output of sintered NdFeB blanks in China was 68500 tons; The output of bonded neodymium iron boron is 2500 tons.
Output of main neodymium iron boron permanent magnet products in China from 2018 to the first quarter of 2022

      From 2018 to 2021, China's output of neodymium iron boron permanent magnet materials grew steadily. In 2020, the growth rate of China's sintered neodymium iron boron production declined, and the output of bonded neodymium iron boron showed a negative growth. In 2021, the growth rate of China's sintered neodymium iron boron production increased, and the output of bonded neodymium iron boron rebounded significantly year-on-year. In 2022, the output of neodymium iron boron permanent magnet materials in China is expected to maintain a steady growth.

       In 2021, the export volume of China's neodymium iron boron alloy fast setting permanent magnet pieces and neodymium iron boron alloy magnetic powder was 260.3975 million US dollars, an increase of 141.42% year-on-year; The import and export trade balance was 254.461 million US dollars, an increase of 148.75% year-on-year. In 2021, China's import volume of neodymium iron boron alloy was 8.1369 million US dollars, an increase of 21.59% year-on-year; The export volume was 11.7105 million US dollars, an increase of 113.66% year-on-year. The demand for neodymium iron boron permanent magnets in the Chinese market has further increased.

4、 Downstream industry analysis

      The application industries of NdFeB permanent magnet materials include new energy vehicles, traditional vehicles, energy-saving variable frequency air conditioners, wind power generation, energy-saving motors, etc. The automobile industry is one of the main industries of magnetic material application, and traditional vehicles and new energy vehicles together account for about 50% of the magnetic material application market.
The new energy automobile industry is one of the industries where neodymium iron boron permanent magnet materials are mainly applied. In recent years, Chinese society has responded to the call of the state and advocated green life. China's new energy automobile industry has developed rapidly. In 2021, China's new energy vehicle output reached 3.545 million, an increase of 159.52% year-on-year; The sales volume reached 3.521 million, with a year-on-year increase of 157.57%. With the development of the new energy automobile industry, the market demand for neodymium iron boron permanent magnet materials has further expanded. In the future, under the national initiative economy, the demand for NdFeB permanent magnet materials in the Chinese market will further increase.

Production and sales of new energy vehicles in China from 2015 to 2021

       The application prospect of new energy vehicles is very broad. According to the goal of energy saving and new energy vehicle technology roadmap 2.0, the penetration rate of domestic new energy vehicles will be 20% by 2025, 40% by 2030 and 50% by 2035. According to the data released by the passenger car Association, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles reached 14.8% in 2021, which was significantly higher than the penetration rate of 5.8% in 2020.
       From 2011 to 2013, China's wind power generation increased sharply year by year, with a year-on-year growth rate of about 30%. From 2014 to 2020, although the growth rate of wind power generation in China slowed down, the wind power generation volume still increased year by year. In 2021, China's wind power generation increased sharply again, reaching 566.7 billion kwh, a year-on-year increase of 36.69%. From January to may 2022, China's accumulated wind power generation capacity was 287.6 billion kwh.

Wind power generation in China from 2011 to 2021 (100 million kwh)

        Iron boron permanent magnetic materials are one of the necessary materials for the construction of wind turbines. With the development of wind power generation in China, the market demand for neodymium iron boron permanent magnetic materials will be higher and higher.
Under the background of "carbon neutrality", the trend of electrification is clear, and the market demand for neodymium iron boron permanent magnets as green materials will increase year by year.