Analysis of the current situation of the global and Chinese boron carbide industry, three key markets bring development opportunities

I. Global downstream application and regional distribution of boron carbide

Boron carbide has the advantages of high melting point (2450℃), high hardness (~ 29.1 GPa, second only to diamond and boron nitride), high elastic modulus, low density (2.52g /cm3), good thermal stability, and high thermal neutron absorption cross section (6×10-22cm-2). It is a kind of special ceramic hard material with excellent performance.

In 2019, the global production capacity of boron carbide is about 22,000 tons/year, and the output is about 9,500 tons. For a long time, China has been the leading producer of boron carbide. With the rapid growth of domestic demand in the past 10 years, China has surpassed the United States to become the world's largest consumption market of boron carbide, accounting for nearly half of the global total.

Distribution of global Boron Carbide by consumption Region in 2019 (unit: %)

Source: China Chemical Industry Information Journal, collated by China Economic Research Institute

In the downstream applications, abrasive and refractory antioxidants are the two most important markets, accounting for 53% and 33% respectively, while the remaining applications account for a relatively small proportion. According to application form, powder application accounts for more than 90%, and product application accounts for only 7%.

Distribution of global Boron Carbide by consumption downstream market in 2019 (unit: %)

Source: China Chemical Industry Information Journal, collated by China Economic Research Institute

Ii. Status analysis of China's boron carbide import and export

As the world's largest producer and consumer market of boron carbide, China is also the world's largest net exporter. According to statistics, China exported 2,482 tons of boron carbide in 2019, almost all of which were powder, mainly to Japan, Germany, India, the United States and the Republic of Korea.

Statistics on the import and export volume of Boron carbide in China from 2015 to 2019

Note: Imports and exports of boron carbide are included whether or not a chemical definition has been established

Source: China Customs, Collated by The China Classics Industry Research Institute

Even slightly reduced by the contraction of the US market, but with the rapid growth of domestic demand, the proportion of exports will decline year by year, and this trend is expected to continue in the future. According to statistics, the export amount of boron carbide in China in 2019 was US $36.43 million.

Statistics on the import and export amount of Boron carbide in China from 2015 to 2019

Note: Imports and exports of boron carbide are included whether or not a chemical definition has been established

Source: China Customs, Collated by The China Classics Industry Research Institute

Related report: Research Report on Market Operation status and Investment Direction of China's Boron Carbide Industry in 2020-2025 released by China Economic Research Institute

Iii. Analysis of competition pattern of China's boron carbide industry

In 2019, China's boron carbide production capacity is 18,000 tons/year, and the actual output is about 7,000 tons, with significant oversupply. However, it is mainly concentrated in low-end production capacity, and boron carbide production capacity that can be used in military and nuclear industries is still in a relatively insufficient state. At present, there are 15 domestic boron carbide production enterprises, and the three enterprises with the highest recognition in the industry, Dalian Jinma, Dalian Zhengxing and Dunhua Zhengxing, account for 53% of the production capacity. The top six enterprises in the industry account for over 86% of the production capacity, showing a high concentration ratio.

China's major boron carbide suppliers and their production capacity in 2019

Source: China Chemical Industry Information Journal, collated by China Economic Research Institute

Iv. Analysis of boron carbide preparation method

Boron carbide was discovered as early as 1934. Through decades of research, people have become familiar with the structure and basic properties of boron carbide. However, the rapid development of aerospace, nuclear industry, electronic information and other fields has put forward higher requirements for material properties. It is still of great significance to further explore the application value of boron carbide and expand its application fields. At present, the commonly used preparation methods of boron carbide include carbon reduction method, self-propagating high-temperature synthesis method, chemical vapor deposition method, precursor cracking method, solute thermal method:

Brief introduction of boron carbide preparation method

Source: China Classics Industry Research Institute

V. Prospect of downstream application market of boron carbide

In the long run, the refractories and nozzles markets in several major downstream markets are thought to be saturated, and the future contribution to boron carbide demand is not expected to increase significantly due to the slowdown in downstream industry development. Relatively speaking, abrasive, military and nuclear industry markets are more worthy of attention of practitioners and investors.

First of all, the abrasive market can still be further subdivided, of which the primary application is sapphire processing, whose consumption is currently estimated to account for about 70 per cent of the entire abrasive market. As a necessity in sapphire processing, boron carbide has been used to polish sapphire table mirrors for high-end watches for decades, but the amount used has always been relatively small. In the past decade, sapphire has developed rapidly in the semiconductor and electronic industry, and now it has become the most important LED substrate material, which also greatly drives the demand for boron carbide in the domestic market. China has become the largest LED substrate producer, production capacity accounting for more than 75% of the world. In the next few years, the market applications of MiniLED and MicroLED technologies, as well as the development of LED substrates with large dimensions, will further drive the market demand and technological innovation of boron carbide.

In the field of nuclear industry, boron carbide is regarded as one of the best choices of neutron absorbing materials by virtue of its good neutron absorption capacity of 10B isotope and its excellent mechanical properties. In the past, such materials have been used mainly in nuclear power plants, so their use has been relatively limited. However, with the operation of China's nuclear power units for many years, the amount of spent fuel produced by the reactors has also increased exponentially. The transportation and off-reactor storage of spent fuel have become the most urgent links at the back end of China's nuclear fuel cycle, and are expected to become the main driving force for the application of boron carbide in the nuclear industry in the future.

Military industry market is the focus of boron carbide industry in 2020. In February, the PEOPLE's Liberation Army (PLA) put up for public bidding nearly 1.4 million sets of bulletproof inserts, including 467,000 reinforced inserts made of boron carbide, which means that China will officially install boron carbide bulletproof products after the United States and Europe. This tender, in addition to the direct demand of 1800 tons of boron carbide, will also bring broad military market prospects. However, according to insiders, the production capacity of hot-pressed sintered boron-carbide bulletproof inserts in China is limited at present, so it is difficult to meet the needs of the military in the short term. In the next few years, it will become the most important investment field and market focus in the industry.

On the whole, driven by three key markets, the boron carbide industry is expected to usher in a new round of rapid growth and embark on the path of high-quality development. Suppliers unable to meet the needs of users in high value-added markets such as nuclear industry and military industry may gradually become less competitive, while the competitive pattern of leading enterprises in the industry may change.

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