The global magnet industry is facing changes
1、 Market demand erupts: Magnet industry stands at the trillion dollar wind
According to Grand View Research data, the global permanent magnet materials market size has reached 24.8 billion US dollars in 2023 and is expected to exceed 46 billion US dollars by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of 9.3%. Three major application areas drive growth:
New energy vehicles: Each electric vehicle requires 2-3kg of high-performance magnets, and the Tesla Model Y permanent magnet motor uses approximately 4.5kg of neodymium iron boron magnets. In the first half of 2024, global sales of new energy vehicles surged by 35% year-on-year, directly driving a 28% increase in magnet demand.
Wind power generation: An 8MW direct drive permanent magnet wind turbine consumes approximately 2 tons of magnets. The global wind power installed capacity is expected to reach 120GW by 2025, with China accounting for over 50%.
Consumer electronics: The demand for miniaturization such as smartphone linear motors and TWS earphones is driving the market for ultra-thin magnets. The 0.2mm thick magnetic sheet developed by TDK in Japan has been used in the Apple AirPods Pro 2.
However, there is a hidden crisis on the supply side: China controls 60% of global rare earth mining and 90% of magnet production capacity, and many European and American countries have included rare earths such as neodymium and praseodymium in their "key raw material lists", indicating a clear trend towards localized supply chains.
2、 Technological breakthrough: Rare earth magnets move from laboratory to mass production
To reduce dependence on rare earths, global companies are accelerating the development of alternative solutions:
Ferrite magnet upgrade: Hitachi Metals in Japan has developed a high-performance ferrite magnet with a BHmax (magnetic energy product) of 5.5 MGOe (traditional products have a magnetic energy product of about 4.5 MGOe), which has been used in Xiaomi robotic vacuum motors, reducing costs by 40% compared to neodymium iron boron.
Nanocomposite magnet breakthrough: Niron Magnetics from the United States announced that its iron nitride (FeN) magnet performance has reached 12 MGOe, and plans to build a 5000 ton annual production factory by 2025, with the first customer being the General Electric Appliances department.
Innovation in Recycling Technology: Siemens from Germany and HYBRIT from Sweden have collaborated to extract rare earth elements from waste motors with a purity of 99.9%, reducing recycling costs by 30% compared to mining.
The "14th Five Year Plan" of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology has also listed "low weight rare earth high coercivity magnets" as a key research and development project. The "grain boundary diffusion technology" announced by Jinli Permanent Magnet in 2024 can reduce the amount of dysprosium by 60%.
3、 Supply Chain Restructuring under Geopolitics
The 2024 EU Key Raw Materials Act requires that the proportion of locally processed rare earths reach 20% by 2030, while the US Defense Production Act allocates $500 million to support local magnet production, triggering a drastic adjustment in the industry chain
Capacity Transfer: Chinese Magnetic Enterprises Accelerate Overseas Layout——
Zhongke Sanhuan is building a 5000 ton magnet production base in Hungary, mainly supplying BMW and Mercedes Benz European electric vehicle factories;
Ningbo Yunsheng and Vietnam Industrial Group jointly built a factory, using the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement to avoid tariff barriers.
Supply chain "short chain": Tesla has partnered with MP Materials in the United States to establish an integrated "mine metal magnet" base in Texas, achieving fast delivery within 48 hours.
New cooperation model: Bosch from Germany and Lynas, an Australian rare earth company, signed a "floating price long-term agreement", agreeing to link the purchase price of rare earths with the sales price of magnets to share market risks.
4、 Environmental pressure drives new industry standards
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) will implement the "Guidelines for Sustainable Development of Permanent Magnet Materials" (ISO 21789) by 2025, with a focus on controlling:
Carbon emissions: The total lifecycle carbon emissions per ton of sintered neodymium iron boron magnets must be less than 18 tons of CO ₂ equivalent (currently an industry average of 25 tons);
Water resources: The water circulation rate for magnetic material production must exceed 85%;
Labor rights: Rare earth mining areas need to pass IRMA certification (only 6 mining areas in China, Ganzhou, Australia, and Mount Weld meet the standards globally).
This standard will eliminate about 30% of small and medium-sized magnetic enterprises worldwide, while leading enterprises will take the opportunity to upgrade:
Zhenghai Magnetic Materials invests 1 billion yuan to build a "zero carbon factory" using green electricity and carbon capture technology;
Momentum Technologies in the UK has developed a water-based magnet coating process to replace hydrofluoric acid pollution in traditional nickel electroplating.
5、 Capital market heat rises: magnet track becomes investment's new favorite
In the first half of 2024, the total financing amount of the global magnet industry reached 4.7 billion US dollars, with a focus on investing in:
Technology startup: Niron Magnetics from the United States has received a $210 million Series C funding led by Bill Gates;
Recycling field: China's Hengci Electronics' recycling technology company is valued at over 2 billion US dollars and plans to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2025;
Digital Supply Chain: The Swiss SICMC platform utilizes blockchain technology to track the entire process of magnets from mines to motors, and has received joint funding from BASF and Samsung.
Conclusion: Who will dominate the next generation of magnet industry?
When the three waves of resource constraints, technological revolution, and geopolitics overlap, the magnet industry has entered a "disruptive innovation" cycle. The future winners may not be resource owners, but rather ecological builders who can integrate materials science, supply chain resilience, and green technology. As McKinsey stated in its "Global Magnet Industry 2030 Outlook," "The endpoint of this race will be the ultimate balance between efficiency and sustainability