How new energy industries lead capacitors development?

2024-03-17

New energy industries, such as new energy vehicles, wind power, UPS etc, grow rapidly, they need huge passive components.The new energy passive parts market is expected to grow from US$7.4 billion to US$11.7 billion (in 2021 to 2027), with a CAGR rate of 7.9%.

The electrification revolution brings new opportunities for the passive component market. With the global dual-carbon policy, electrification changes in photovoltaics, wind power, new energy vehicles, railways, industrial motors, UPS and other new energy fields are in depth. The demand for power products in related industries has brought new growth to the passive components market. In the fields of photovoltaic and wind power, inverters are the core components of power stations. The efficiency and lifespan of inverters are closely related to passive components. The cost proportions of capacitors, inductors, and resistors in photovoltaic power converters are 4%, 4%, and 4% respectively, the cost proportions of capacitors, inductors, and resistors in wind power power converters are 6%, 5%, and 2% respectively. In the field of new energy vehicles, electric drive systems and on-board chargers OBC require a large number of passive components to achieve power conversion functions such as AC and DC conversion, boost, and inverter. The cost proportion of capacitors, inductors, and resistors in new energy vehicle power converters They are 10%, 10% and 2% respectively. The new energy electrification revolution has brought huge new market opportunities to the passive component industry.

The impact of the new energy industry on capacitors: 

A capacitor is an energy storage component, consists of two conductive plates separated by a dielectric insulating material. As one of the three major passive components, capacitors are characterized by passing AC and blocking DC. Their main function is to store electrical energy and play the functions of voltage reduction, filtering, tuning, bypass and coupling in power circuits. They are often used in conjunction with inductors and resistors. Used in conjunction with other passive components. The energy storage function stores electrical energy in the form of an electric field, the smoothing function smoothes voltage changes, the coupling function blocks DC current and only allows AC current to pass through, and the decoupling function bypasses high-frequency noise components.

Capacitors are mainly divided into ceramic capacitors, film capacitors, aluminum electrolytic capacitors and tantalum electrolytic capacitors. Capacitors can be divided into two categories: polar capacitors and non-polar capacitors according to polarity. In 2019, the market shares of various types of capacitors were 52%, 8%, 33%, and 7% respectively. Capacitors have rich application scenarios, and film capacitors have a tendency to replace aluminum electrolytic capacitors in the new energy industry. Ceramic capacitors have a large capacitance range, wide operating temperature range, low dielectric loss, and obvious advantages in miniaturization. They are especially suitable for consumer electronics and occupy the largest share of the capacitor market. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors have large capacitance and low price, and are mainly used in industry, home appliances, and lighting fields. Tantalum electrolytic capacitors have high reliability, small leakage current, and are not affected by temperature. They are mainly used in high-end military fields. The performance of film capacitors is between ceramic capacitors and electrolytic capacitors. They have good frequency characteristics, high withstand voltage, and high reliability. They are especially suitable for new energy fields such as new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, wind power, and industrial control. The performance of supercapacitors is between traditional capacitors and lithium batteries, and it has broad application prospects in the field of new energy.

The development trend of capacitors is in the direction of miniaturization, solidification, ultra-thinness, and high temperature resistance. Downstream electronic products are gradually developing towards miniaturization, prompting upstream ceramic capacitors to develop towards miniaturization. New energy vehicles, photovoltaics, wind power and other industries have increasingly higher performance requirements for film capacitors, and film capacitors are gradually developing towards ultra-thin and high-temperature resistance.

In the field of new energy vehicles, film capacitors and aluminum electrolytic capacitors are key components for power management and current conversion. As the voltage and output power of new energy vehicle platforms have increased significantly, the requirements for passive components to withstand voltage and high temperature have increased significantly. Film capacitors have outstanding performance advantages such as high-frequency performance, high current withstand capability, and high reliability. They are more suitable for high-voltage platforms of new energy vehicles and are widely used in inverters, on-board chargers OBC, DC-DC and other systems. In the field of charging piles, especially DC high-voltage and high-power charging piles, film capacitors are used in DC support (DC-Link) capacitors and filter capacitors. Aluminum electrolytic capacitors have large capacity and low cost. They are more suitable for medium and low frequency circuits and are mainly used in medium and low voltage circuits.

The high prosperity of the new energy industry has driven the steady growth of the capacitor market. The rise of new energy vehicles, photovoltaics, wind power and other industries requires a large number of AC/DC and DC/AC conversion, high and low voltage buffer components, creating new growth opportunities for the traditional capacitor market. The growth of the capacitor market has switched from traditional lighting, home appliances, and consumer electronics to the new energy industry. According to analysis, the capacitor market in the new energy industry will grow from US$3.07 billion in 2021 to US$4.96 billion in 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.3%, a growth rate much higher than that of traditional capacitor applications.

New energy vehicles will become the fastest growing and largest market segment for capacitors. The demand for high-voltage and high-temperature-resistant capacitors in new energy vehicles has increased significantly, and high-temperature film capacitors have become the best choice for electric drive systems and vehicle power supplies. According to Yole's analysis, the new energy vehicle capacitor market will grow from US$720 million in 2021 to US$1.96 billion in 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 18.3%, making it the fastest growing market segment. New energy vehicles will also become the largest market segment for capacitors, with market share increasing from 23% in 2021 to 40% in 2027. Focusing on future market demand, many capacitor companies are actively deploying the capacitor market in the new energy automobile industry.

The demand for capacitors in photovoltaic and wind power also maintains rapid growth. Per analysis, the photovoltaic capacitor market will grow from US$530 million in 2021 to US$730 million in 2027, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.5%; the wind power capacitor market will grow from US$380 million in 2021 to US$660 million in 2027 billion, with a CAGR of 9.6%; the UPS capacitor market will grow from US$200 million in 2021 to US$280 million in 2027, with a CAGR of 5.2%; the industrial motor capacitor market will grow from US$980 million in 2021 USD to grow to USD 1.06 billion in 2027, at a CAGR of 1.3%.

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