On May 23rd, the second Iron Core Industry Chain Annual Conference and Iron Core Application Technology Seminar, with the theme of "Iron Core Empowering New Fields and New Scenarios, High-Quality Development with 'Heart'", was held in Danyang. This conference focused on hot topics such as the development situation of the steel industry, cutting-edge technologies in the core industry, and market trends. Through forms such as special reports and in-depth dialogues, it shared the most advanced research results and practical wisdom, pointing out new directions for the high-quality development of the core industry.
Luo Tiejun, Vice president of the China Iron and Steel Association, Bai Wenbo, Secretary-General of the China Electrical Equipment Industry Association, Liu Biao, Deputy Director of the Market Research Department of the China Iron and Steel Association, Chen Zhuo, former secretary-general of the Electrical Steel Branch of the China Iron and Steel Society and expert advisor of the Science and Technology Development Center of the China Iron and Steel Association, Jiang Min, vice mayor of Danyang City, Leaders and experts such as CAI Zixiang, the chairman of the Core Application Branch of China Electrical Equipment Industry Association, Cao Xiaoguo, the chairman of Jiangsu Dalishen Technology Co., LTD., and Li Hongchun, the deputy secretary-general of the Core Application Branch of China Electrical Equipment Industry Association, attended the meeting. Li Hongchun and Xiao Haihang, deputy secretary-general of the Core Application Branch of the China Electrical Equipment Industry Association, respectively presided over the morning and afternoon meetings.
Luo Tiejun delivered a speech at the meeting. He stated that the core is the "heart" of electrodes and transformers, and it is also an important high-end downstream industry in the steel sector. Silicon steel, as the main raw material for the core, is hailed as the pearl on the crown of steel. Along with the technological innovation of China's steel industry, China's silicon steel has achieved a leapfrog development from "following" to "leading". It has risen to the forefront of the world in terms of equipment, technology and products. In recent years, the product structure of the silicon steel industry has been continuously optimized, its market competitiveness has been constantly enhanced, its innovation capabilities have been significantly improved, and the level of complete equipment design, manufacturing and assembly has been greatly strengthened. A number of outstanding and competitive silicon steel production enterprises have emerged continuously. Traditional silicon steel production enterprises like Baosteel and Shougang have been constantly growing stronger and larger. In recent years, private enterprises have developed rapidly. Specialized, refined, distinctive and innovative enterprises like Putian Tiexin and Dalishen have taken a niche route and continuously refined and strengthened themselves.
Luo Tiejun pointed out that with the proposal of the "dual carbon" goals, China's new energy sector has developed rapidly. Industries such as wind and solar power and new energy vehicles have grown at a high speed, significantly increasing the demand for cores, silicon steel and amorphous materials. At present, China's silicon steel products have covered all categories and can meet the demands of various downstream fields. In 2024, China's silicon steel output was approximately 17.5 million tons, representing a year-on-year growth of 15% and an increase of 48% compared to 2020, accounting for more than three quarters of the world's total output. The steel industry has fully met the rapidly growing demand for silicon steel from downstream industries, provided steel products with stable quality and good value for money, and provided strong support for downstream industries to expand their international markets. At the same time, it should be noted that in recent years, the capacity of silicon steel that has been built and is under construction has increased rapidly, with the growth rate of capacity exceeding that of demand. It is hoped that subsequent investment in silicon steel will be made under the premise of scientific argumentation, with careful and rational decisions to enhance the return on investment.
CAI Zixiang said in his speech that as a key hub connecting magnetic materials with core equipment such as motors and transformers, the core industry is a strategic basic industry supporting the construction of modernization with Chinese characteristics. At present, the core industry is standing at the crossroads of The Times' transformation, where opportunities and challenges go hand in hand and are interwoven. On the one hand, the global energy transition wave is surging. The vigorous development of new fields and scenarios such as new energy vehicles, flying cars, AI artificial intelligence, energy-saving transformers, and high-efficiency motors has brought unprecedented development opportunities to the core industry. On the other hand, multiple factors such as the volatile global situation, frequent geopolitical conflicts, and the rise of trade protectionism represented by the US tariff war are intertwined, exerting profound and multi-faceted influences on the global economy.
It is gratifying to note that in the face of opportunities and challenges, practitioners in China's core industry have adhered to upholding principles while embracing innovation. From breakthroughs in materials science to innovations in manufacturing processes, from deepening intelligent design to enhancing energy efficiency, significant progress has been made in the research and development of a series of key technologies. This has notably improved the performance and quality of core products and accelerated the green and intelligent transformation of the core industry. Our core products not only hold an important position in the domestic market but also have made a name for themselves on the international stage. The high quality of the entire core industry chain has brought honor to China's manufacturing industry and laid a solid foundation for the construction of Chinese-style modernization. CAI Zixiang said.
Cao Xiaoguo extended a warm welcome to everyone's arrival in his speech. Cao Xiaoguo introduced that this conference brought together the elites and leading figures in the fields of industry, academia and research, delved deeply into and analyzed the development trends of the industry, and jointly looked forward to new models, new technologies, new products and sustainable development prospects for the industrial chain. Jiangsu Dalishen Technology Co., Ltd. will adhere to the craftsmanship spirit of striving for excellence and pursuing perfection, persist in optimizing advantages and adopting distinctive business strategies, abide by the cooperative concept of mutual benefit and common development, and spare no effort to create the greatest value for customers.
Jiang Min, the vice mayor of Danyang City, introduced the development of Danyang City in her speech and expressed her expectations for more achievements from this meeting.
In his speech, Bai Wenbo said that over the past few years, China's iron core industry has forged ahead with determination in a complex and volatile domestic and international environment and achieved remarkable accomplishments. In terms of industrial scale, by the end of 2024, there will be over 2,000 enterprises in the entire industry, with an annual total output value exceeding several hundred billion yuan. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the transformer core and motor core industries have achieved considerable development. From 2021 to 2024, the core industry will consume approximately 60 million tons of silicon steel, 450,000 tons of amorphous steel, and about 600,000 tons of rare earth permanent magnets, with a total value of over 610 billion yuan. These data not only demonstrate the scale and strength of China's core industry, but also indicate that our position in the global core industry landscape is increasingly rising.
Bai Wenbo believes that the core industry still faces pain points such as "insufficient high-end capacity and excessive low-end capacity", "weak innovation capabilities and the absence of a standard system", and "intensified international competition and compressed profit margins". We should take new quality productivity as the lead, focus on the main line of "high-end, intelligent and green", break through bottlenecks in the five major fields of materials, design, process, equipment and standards, and gather the synergy for industrial development through collaborative innovation.
Liu Biao, deputy director of the Market Research Department of the China Iron and Steel Association, delivered a report titled "The Operation and Development Trend of China's Steel Industry". He believes that the output of crude steel in our country shows a downward trend year by year. In the first four months of this year, 37.89 million tons of steel were exported, an increase of 8.2% year-on-year. Imported steel was 2.07 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 13.8%. The apparent consumption of crude steel in the first four months of this year reached 304.95 million tons, a year-on-year decrease of 1.7%. From the perspective of the development of downstream manufacturing industries, the output of most varieties has not yet peaked, indicating that there is still room for growth. Liu Biao offered six outlooks for future development. The first is to strictly control the addition of new production capacity and smooth the exit channels. The second is to oppose internal competition and strengthen self-discipline. The third is to grasp the correct export orientation. Fourth, mergers and reorganizations in the steel industry are underway. The fifth is to comprehensively rectify the "involution" competition and achieve mutual benefit, win-win results and harmonious development of the upstream and downstream industrial chains. Sixth, green and low-carbon development is the high-quality direction for the steel industry.
Chen Zhuo, the former secretary-general of the Electrical Steel Branch of the China Iron and Steel Society and an expert advisor of the Metallurgical Science and Technology Development Center of the China Iron and Steel Association, delivered a report titled "High-End Soft Magnetic Functional Materials Facilitate New Fields, New Demands, and New Development - Self-Bonding and Composite Ultra-Thin Strips Embrace Opportunities and Challenges", introducing the main soft magnetic functional materials. The technological processes, main uses and future development of silicon steel and amorphous steel were expounded. Chen Zhuo believes that silicon steel and amorphous steel both face both opportunities and challenges. According to incomplete statistics, the global production capacity of oriented silicon steel was approximately 5.5 million tons in 2023, with China accounting for 53.8%. The global total output in 2023 was approximately 4.4802 million tons, of which China accounted for 59.2%. The global amorphous production capacity is approximately 400,000 tons. In 2024, China's amorphous alloy strip output is expected to be about 172,700 tons, accounting for 63.33% of the global total (excluding nanocrystals). It can be seen that the global demand for silicon steel and amorphous materials still has considerable potential.
Chen Zhuo believes that science has no end. Silicon steel still needs innovation and breakthroughs. It is necessary to study the application and technology of thin-sized silicon steel. After nearly a decade of rapid development, amorphous materials have made new breakthroughs. The application of amorphous motors will bring both opportunities and challenges to the expansion of amorphous production. However, silicon steel still dominates the market. Once amorphous composite strips are commercialized, they may enter multiple application scenarios. The industry seeks change amid competition, innovation in change, stability in innovation, and moves forward steadily. Chen Zhuo suggested that enterprises closely follow the "Belt and Road Initiative" and vigorously explore new international markets.
Han Saigen, a senior expert and the former director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Operation Center of State Grid Shanghai Energy Internet Research Institute Co., LTD., delivered a report titled "Discussion on the Application Requirements of Core Materials for Distribution Transformers in China and Energy-saving Technologies". Wang Yuhao, the chief engineer of Shougang Zhixin Electromagnetic Materials (Qian 'an) Co., LTD., delivered a report titled "Research on High-performance Oriented Silicon Steel and Processing of Shougang".
Xiao Haihang, the executive deputy secretary-general of the Core Application Branch of the China Electrical Equipment Industry Association, delivered a report titled "Future Development Trends of the Core Industry". He believes that in the future, with the increase in electricity consumption, the demand for cores will definitely rise significantly.
Pei Ruilin, the chairman of Suzhou Yingci New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. and a second-level professor at Shenyang University of Technology, delivered a report titled "Processing Technology and Application Prospects of Drive Motor Cores".
In the afternoon report session, Zhang Junjie, the director of the Green Electrical Theory and Application Research Institute of Wuxi Putian Core Co., LTD., delivered a report titled "Core Structure and Electromagnetic Behavior of Power Transmission and Transformation Products".
During the paper presentation session, Lin Yuan, the director of the Silicon Steel Research Institute of Shanxi Taigang Stainless Steel Co., LTD., delivered a report titled "The Influence of Different Si Contents on the Microstructure, Texture Evolution and Magnetic Properties of Thin-sized non-oriented Silicon Steel". Li Zhichao, an associate professor from the University of Science and Technology Beijing, delivered a report titled "The Influence Laws of Skew Rolling and Tempering Processes on the Texture Evolution and Magnetic Properties of 0.74wt.%Si non-oriented Silicon Steel". Yue Shuaichao, a lecturer from the School of Electrical Engineering of Hebei University of Technology, gave a report titled "Test and Analysis of Two-dimensional Magnetic Properties of Silicon Steel Materials under Temperature-Stress Co-loading". Li Zhuang, a research and development engineer from the Product Institute of the Electrical Engineering Research Institute of Wuxi Putian Iron Core Co., LTD., delivered a report titled "Optimization of Oil-Immersed Distribution Transformers Based on Multi-Physics Field Simulation". Zhang Qingsong, director of the Thin Strip Institute of the Base Materials Research Institute of Wuxi Putian Iron Core Co., LTD., delivered a report titled "Research on Microstructure Evolution and Loss Characteristics of Copper-Containing Oriented Silicon Steel at Different Cold Rolling Reduction Rates". Wang Sifan, a master's student from the School of Electrical Engineering at Shenyang University of Technology, gave a report titled "Performance Analysis of Oriented Silicon Steel Motors Considering the Influence of Temperature". Yang Bingbing, a master's student from the School of Electrical Engineering of Shenyang University of Technology, delivered a report titled "Current Situation and Future Development Prospects of Soft Magnetic Composite Materials in Motor Applications".
During the new technology exchange session of enterprises, Li Guoyang, the senior business development manager of Quack Haofton Investment Management (Shanghai) Co., LTD., delivered a report titled "Performance Leap Based on Measured Data: Application Verification of Quack Haofton Self-Adhesive Coating on Silicon Steel for New Energy Vehicles". Li Weiqiang, a senior thermal energy engineer from Zhongke Zhuoyi Environmental Technology (Dongguan) Co., LTD., delivered a report titled "Innovative Application of Porous Medium Combustion Technology in Glass Deep Processing". Wang Shengming, the chairman of Hubei Honghua High-temperature Materials Co., LTD., delivered a report titled "A High-temperature Annealing Furnace Base Plate Device for Silicon Nitride Synthesis Provides the Best Solution for Silicon Steel Quality". Chen Hao, the general manager of Wuxi Pengfeng Furnace Industry Technology Co., LTD., delivered a report titled "A Brief Discussion on the Application of New Natural Gas High-temperature Bell Furnaces in Oriented Silicon Steel to Achieve Energy Conservation, Consumption Reduction and Product Quality Improvement".
During the discussion session of the conference, the representatives present had in-depth exchanges on the hot topics in the core industry.
On the morning of May 24th, the representatives attending the meeting visited the oriented silicon steel production line of Jiangsu Dalishen Technology Co., LTD.
More than 250 representatives from industry associations, universities, enterprises, research institutes and media in the upstream and downstream of the iron Core attended the meeting.
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