Magnetic material, a magnetically ordered material with ferromagnetism or subferromagnetism and practical applications, is distinguished from other materials by its high sensitivity to applied magnetic fields. Its wide range of applications is not only limited to traditional fields, but also plays a key role in the optical storage, wind power, new energy vehicles and other emerging industries. With the rapid development of these downstream applications, the magnetic materials industry has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities.

Magnetic materials, according to their functional characteristics, can be divided into three main categories: permanent magnetic materials, soft magnetic materials and functional magnetic materials. In the field of new energy vehicles, permanent magnetic materials such as neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnets and ferrite permanent magnets, as well as soft magnetic materials such as silicon steel, metal soft magnetic powder cores, and ferrite soft magnets, have been widely used.

1 Permanent Magnetic Materials-NdFeB

Neodymium-iron-boron (Nd-Fe-B) permanent magnet material, with its Nd2Fe14B as the main component, exhibits excellent performance in terms of high remanent magnetization and high coercive force. This material plays a crucial role in new energy vehicles, significantly improving motor energy efficiency while reducing energy loss. Each new energy vehicle requires about 5kg of NdFeB permanent magnet material, which is mainly used in key components such as drive motors, ABS and EPS. In addition, in-vehicle speakers and various types of sensors are also widely used in this permanent magnet material.

2 Permanent Magnetic Materials - Ferrite

Ferrite permanent magnetic materials are made from SrO or BaO and Fe2O3, which are carefully manufactured by ceramic process. Although not as good as rare-earth permanent magnetic materials in terms of performance, its abundant raw materials, affordable price, easy preparation, and excellent oxidation resistance and high residual magnetization strength make it still the preferred choice in many occasions. Especially in the field of new energy vehicles, ferrite permanent magnet materials are widely used in key components such as drive motors, converters and charging piles.

3 Soft Magnetic Materials - Silicon Steel

Silicon steel, by skillfully adding a small amount of silicon (usually kept below 5%) to pure iron, forms an iron-silicon alloy. This material exhibits high permeability, low hysteresis loss, and excellent electromagnetic properties. In the field of new energy vehicles, silicon steel, as an important component of electric motors, can effectively reduce the iron loss and hysteresis loss of electric motors, thus improving the efficiency and overall performance of electric motors. In addition, silicon steel is also widely used in charging piles, battery management systems and body structures of new energy vehicles.

4 Soft Magnetic Materials - Metal Soft Magnetic Cores

Metal soft magnetic powder core combines the dual advantages of metal soft magnetic material and soft magnetic ferrite. Its unique feature is the use of ferromagnetic particles as the core component, supplemented by an insulating medium for coating and pressing. This material not only has a high saturation magnetic induction strength, but also has excellent resistivity. In the field of new energy vehicles, metal soft magnetic powder cores are mainly used in key components such as charging piles, on-board AC/DC chargers and on-board DC/DC converters. With the gradual popularization of the 800V high-voltage platform technology, its single-vehicle usage is expected to grow significantly from the current about 7kg.

5 Soft Magnetic Materials-Ferrite

Ferrite soft magnetic material, with Fe2O3 as the main component, is refined by powder metallurgy process. It contains several types such as Mn-Zn, Cu-Zn, Ni-Zn, etc. Among them, Mn-Zn ferrite is the most widely produced and used. This material not only has excellent high-frequency electrical characteristics, but also has the advantages of low cost and easy processing into various shapes and sizes. In the field of new energy vehicles, ferrite soft magnetic materials are widely used in many systems such as OBC equipment, EV charging equipment, and HEV power system power conversion.