Outlook of Boron Carbide Downstream Application Market
In the long run, among several major downstream markets, the refractory and nozzle markets are considered to be saturated. At the same time, affected by the slowdown in the development of downstream industries, it is expected that the contribution to the demand for boron carbide in the future will not increase significantly. Relatively speaking, the abrasive, military and nuclear industry markets are more worthy of attention from practitioners and investors.
First, the abrasive market can still be further subdivided, among which the most important application is sapphire processing, and its consumption is estimated to account for about 70% of the entire abrasive market. As a necessity in the sapphire processing process, boron carbide has been used for decades to polish sapphire mirrors for high-end watches, but the amount has always been relatively small. In the past decade, the application of sapphire in the semiconductor and electronics industries has developed rapidly. At present, it has become the most important LED substrate material, which has greatly driven the demand for boron carbide in the domestic market. my country has become the largest producer of LED substrates, with a production capacity of more than 75% of the world. In the next few years, the market application of MiniLED and MicroLED technologies, as well as the development of large-scale LED substrates, will further drive the market demand and technological innovation of boron carbide.
In the nuclear industry, boron carbide is regarded as one of the best choices for neutron absorption materials due to its good neutron absorption ability of 10B isotope and its excellent mechanical properties. In the past, this type of material was mainly used in nuclear power plants, so the amount used was relatively limited. However, with the operation of my country’s nuclear power units for many years, the amount of spent fuel produced by reactors has also doubled. Spent fuel transportation and off-reactor storage have become the most urgent links in the back end of my country’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.
The military market is a hot topic in the boron carbide industry in 2020. In February, the People’s Liberation Army publicly tendered nearly 1.4 million sets of bulletproof inserts, including 467,000 sets of reinforced inserts made of boron carbide, which means that my country will officially install boron carbide bulletproof products after the United States and Europe. In addition to the direct demand for 1,800 tons of boron carbide, this tender will also bring broad prospects for the military market. However, according to industry insiders, the current domestic production capacity of hot-pressed sintered boron carbide bulletproof inserts is limited, and it is difficult to meet the needs of the military in the short term. It will become the most important investment area and market focus in the industry in the next few years.
Overall, driven by the three key markets, the boron carbide industry is expected to usher in a new round of rapid growth and embark on a high-quality development path. The competitiveness of suppliers who are unable to meet the needs of users in high-value-added markets such as the nuclear industry and military industry may gradually decrease, and the competitive landscape of leading companies in the industry may change.