Superconductivity refers to a phenomenon in which the resistance of a substance suddenly disappears under certain temperature conditions, and a superconductor refers to a substance that can produce superconductivity. In 1911, Dutch scientist Onnes discovered that the resistance of mercury suddenly dropped to zero under low temperature conditions of liquid helium (4.2K). This phenomenon of the sudden disappearance of material resistance under low temperature conditions is called superconductivity, and the transition temperature is called critical temperature (Tc).
Superconducting materials refer to materials that have zero DC resistance and are completely diamagnetic under certain conditions. At present, it has been discovered that 46 elements and thousands of alloys and compounds can become superconducting materials.
The market size of the global superconducting materials industry will reach about 6.4 billion euros in 2019
With the continuous research and development of global superconducting technology and the continuous expansion of superconducting applications in various fields, the global superconducting industry has entered a hot era. Among them, superconducting materials are the basis of superconducting applications, so they are the first part of industrialization and the most deterministic field in the future.
According to a survey conducted by the European Superconducting Industry Association (Conectus), the global superconducting material market has maintained steady growth in recent years. In 2018, the global superconducting material market was 6.151 billion euros, a year-on-year increase of 6.1%. Based on the current situation of the industry and the growth rate of industry development in recent years, the global superconducting material market size in 2019 is about 6.4 billion euros.
Analysis of the market competition pattern of the global superconducting material industry
——Competitive analysis of segmented products: low-temperature superconductors account for over 90% of the market
Superconducting materials can be divided into low-temperature superconducting materials and high-temperature superconducting materials according to the difference in critical transition temperature. According to research conducted by Conectus, the current global superconducting industry is dominated by low-temperature superconductors. In 2018, its market size was 5.881 billion euros, with a market share of 95.61%; while the market size of high-temperature superconducting materials was 270 million euros, with a market share Only 4.39%, but its growth rate is relatively rapid.
Analysis of enterprise competition pattern: low competition intensity of industry enterprises
From the perspective of market participants in the low-temperature superconducting industry, the production companies related to the low-temperature superconducting industry chain come from the fields including superconducting ingots, superconducting wires, superconducting magnets and superconducting equipment.
From a global perspective, some companies focus on R&D and production in a single field, such as ATI in the United States; while other companies span multiple fields, such as Oxford in the United Kingdom and XBCD Superconducting Materials Technology Group in China. At present, only a few companies in the world master the production technology of low-temperature superconducting wires, mainly distributed in the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and China.
The business of Chinese company XBCD involves the production of NbTi ingots and wires, Nb3Sn wires (including the "bronze method" and "inner tin method") and superconducting magnets. It is the world's only niobium titanium (NbTi) ingots, superconducting wires, A full-process manufacturer of superconducting magnets.