Automobile electrification has promoted the growth of the inductance market, and the inductance of automobile has developed to high power

Upstream of the inductive device industry are manufacturers of inductive materials, conductive materials, equipment and packaging materials, among which inductive materials include ferrite powder, dielectric ceramic powder, magnetic core and porcelain core, which have different characteristics in terms of power inductance. As the leading manufacturer of automotive power inductors, TDK has a rich product portfolio that can be used in a variety of inductance and current rating combinations.

Any inductor will have a certain amount of power when energized. If the current of the inductor is much less than the current allowed by the conductor, it is generally not called a power inductor. The so-called power inductance generally refers to the inductance with large current.

The power inductor plays an important role in the process of automobile electrification

Cars have evolved into advanced electronic devices with the increasingly rich functions of advanced driver assistance systems ADAS and the increasing maturity of infotainment systems for electric vehicles. Electronic components play a crucial role in this change. The car is equipped with various electronic control units related to powertrain, information processing and safety to electronically control various functions of the vehicle. The use of electronic control units is increasing year by year. Currently, some high-end cars are equipped with more than 100 independent control units.

All electronic control units require many different automotive electronics, and the DC-DC converter is one of the key components in regulating the battery voltage to the optimal level. Power inductors are the key components that determine the performance of these converters. They can help DC/DC maintain continuous current by accumulating and releasing energy, providing high current and high inductance for power supply systems with different voltage levels. When the DC is connected to the DC, the current is free to pass through the power inductor, and when the AC is connected to the DC, the inductor acts as a resistance. Power inductors can also prompt the DC-DC converter to convert the voltage to the desired level when using an IC that matches the high speed switch.

Currently, the electrification trend of various automotive systems puts higher demands on DC-DC converters to provide stable power over a wider temperature range. This makes the performance of power inductors should be improved. It is difficult for traditional ferrite core inductors to meet all requirements. Further improvements are needed to achieve lower magnetic leakage and smoother saturation characteristics without sacrificing DCR and core loss performance. That is to say, power inductors require smaller DC resistance, smaller AC resistance and better saturation characteristics when switching voltage, and higher induction coefficient and lower DC resistance when choking.

Power inductors market overview

As one of the three major passive devices, inductance has always been a concerned market. Upstream of the inductive device industry are manufacturers of inductive materials, conductive materials, equipment and packaging materials, among which inductive materials include ferrite powder, dielectric ceramic powder, magnetic core and porcelain core, which have different characteristics in terms of power inductance. The midstream is the equipment manufacturer, and the downstream applications are in many industries, including communications,

Consumer electronics, industrial electronics, automotive electronics.

Japanese manufacturers are the first echelon of the entire inductance industry, with TDK and Murata leading Japanese manufacturers occupying nearly 50% of the global inductance market. The first tier includes a handful of domestic manufacturers, such as Sunluo Electronics and Qilixin. China's large inductor manufacturers are concentrated in the second tier.

The automobile power inductance occupies a small proportion in the whole inductance market, and the mobile communication application and computer application occupy the highest proportion. However, the price of automotive power inductors is much higher than the average price and high added value of inductors in the field of mobile communication. The industry pattern of power inductors is similar to that of the inductors industry as a whole, with Japanese manufacturers leading the industry. TDK, in the field of automotive power inductance, Panasonic has industry-leading technical strength.

According to the statistics of Hengzhou Chengsi research institute, the global power inductor market scale is about 31.7 billion yuan in 2022, and will continue to maintain a stable growth in the future. By 2029, the market scale will be close to 38.1 billion yuan, with an annual compound growth rate of 2.8%. Traditional Japanese head manufacturers account for about 57% of the world's total. The Asia-Pacific region is the largest market, followed by North America and Europe with 14 percent and 13 percent, respectively. In terms of product types, patch types were the largest segmentation, accounting for about 94 percent.

According to the China Electronic Components Industry Association, 70 percent of power inductors in the domestic market are expected to use integrated inductors by the end of 2022, with the global integrated power inductor market size reaching 22.6 billion yuan and the domestic market size exceeding 10 billion yuan. Automotive electronics, 5G and the Internet of Things are the main drivers for the growth of the domestic market size.