Ferrite cores' high frequency, magnetic permeability find new applications

by Vianie Li & Cecile de Veyra

Ferrite cores have been in use for more than 90 years and continue to serve their purpose of controlling EMI and ensuring low power loss in medium and high frequencies. They are a staple passive component in home appliances, computers, mobile electronics and communications equipment. In recent years, wireless chargers, LED lights, electric vehicles and solar power systems have joined the fray, expanding the market for these cost-effective devices.

Like other electronic components, ferrite cores have transformed over the years, driven by the miniaturization, integration and multifunctionality trends in application products. They now come in smaller and more lightweight forms but have a wide operating temperature and a high saturation magnetic flux density while retaining their inherent high-frequency properties. Xiamen Yuxiang Magnetic Materials Technology Co. Ltd has RM-type units that offer maximum magnetic performance while minimizing PCB space by at least 40 percent.

Most ferrite cores come from China, which has the twin advantages of an abundant supply of materials and low labor costs. The country’s soft ferrite core market reached $1.25 billion in 2020 and is projected to go up to $2.19 billion by 2025, according to the China Electronic Components Industry Association.

Taking advantage of this lead, Chinese manufacturers will continue to develop high-performance ferrite cores. One supplier interviewed by Global Sources, Fuan Electronics (Nantong) Co. Ltd, has introduced products with characteristics of high frequency, and low loss and magnetizing current, which are comparable to those made by TDK, Ferroxcube and Magnetics.

Other suppliers are boosting production capacity. SinoMag, a key player in China, will have realized its target of 41,000 tons of high-performance hard ferrite cores by end-2022. It plans to add 10,000 tons in 2023 and similarly in 2024, bringing the company’s annual capacity to 60,000 tons by then and surpassing TDK in this category.

Nantong Guanyouda, meanwhile, will be investing $68.5 million in a factory capable of turning out 12,000 tons of ferrite cores yearly, and a facility for high-performance magnetic powder with a 24,000-ton annual capacity. Both projects will begin mass production in 2024.

China’s manufacturing pool

There are more than 300 makers of ferrite cores in China, including suppliers from Japan and South Korea such as TDK, Magnetics, Hitachi, FDK and Ferroxcube.

The majority, however, are domestically owned and mostly small- and medium-scale enterprises, while the top Chinese companies DMEGC, TDG, SinoMag, BGRIMM, San Huan and Fenghua Advanced are also among global leaders.

Based on 2021 data from the China Electronic Materials Industry Association Magnetic Materials Branch, 45 percent of suppliers had annual capacity below 1,000 tons of hard ferrite cores, 25 percent 1,000 to 3,000 tons, 21 percent between 3,000 and 5,000 tons and the remaining 9 percent 10,000 tons and above.

In addition to ferrite cores, some companies produce other magnetics such as NdFeB magnets, and cater to upstream and downstream markets, providing ferrite materials, coils and transformers.

Over two-thirds of these manufacturers are in the Yangtze River Delta, specifically in Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Anhui, and the rest in Guangzhou, Dongguan and Zhongshan in Guangdong. Only a few new entrants joined this pool in the past two years due to intense competition, which may lead to some departures in the months ahead.

Chinese suppliers export their products in ratios varying from 30 to 80 percent, with a few allocating their output entirely for overseas. The main destinations are the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and North America. Companies interviewed by Global Sources said shipments to these markets would keep rising in 2023 and 2024.

Global sales value of soft ferrite cores alone is expected to reach $2.9653 billion by 2028, according to Global Info Research. In 2021, this was pegged at $1.8264 billion.