The soft magnetic materials market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.0%, reaching a market size of USD 49.8 billion in 2030 from USD 32.3 billion in 2025.
Globally, escalating requests from the energy and power industry for soft magnetic materials stem from population expansion, fast infrastructure buildup, rising manufacturing activities, etc. Likewise, there has also been an observable increase in their use within the international automotive industry. This increase in use can be ascribed to the fact that highly efficient automotive parts such as antenna cores, gearboxes, alternators, and induction coils are becoming increasingly common in the industry.
Furthermore, the soft magnetic materials that these cores are made up of have advantages over traditional hard metals, including energy efficiency, reduced noise levels, and less space requirements, thus their increased adoption in the electric cars sector. Consequently, the need for soft magnetic materials is being stimulated by the increasing global adoption of electric vehicles. In addition, they are used in transformers, alternators, claw pole motors, stepper motors, brushless direct current (DC) motor stators, and switch reluctance motors. Moreover, the market is propelled by multiple advancements in renewable energy harvesting and increasing investments in the power distribution industry.
Rising advancements in soft magnetic materials
A sophisticated soft magnetic material has been created for use in both AC and DC motor applications. The engine components are made using a powder metallurgical process instead of the traditional method of stacking punched laminations. There are several production benefits to this new material. In addition, it possesses strong high-frequency magnetic properties, a low eddy current loss of 1.5 T, and a core loss of 90 W / kg when calculated at 400 Hz. When compared to cold rolled motor lamination steels, components made of this new magnetic material have demonstrated superior performance at frequencies > 60 Hz and comparable performance at 60 Hz. The freshly pressed material retains excellent DC properties even after it is sintered.
Increasing demand for pure iron
The top iron powder-producing industries in the world advise using water-atomized, high-purity iron powders for superior soft magnetic applications. Sintered iron with a moderate amount of impurities in the form of solid cores is frequently used for telephone relays and switches, contactors, electromagnets, plungers, pole parts, solenoids, and other DC devices. The production costs of pure iron are very high. Pure iron is not a good choice for its magnetic application in AC devices because of its low resistance. In general, as the amount of impurity lowers, the magnetic properties of pure iron can be further improved. Iron's residual non-metallic impurity must be less than the solid solubility limit at room temperature.
Increasing adoption of electric motors
Electric motors are used in many end-use industries, including electric transmission, consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and medical equipment. Medical equipment and devices, including high-quality pumps, infusion pumps, hemodialysis machines, compressors, respirators, centrifuges, scanners, and others, use small electric motors. Electric motors are important to the soft magnets market because they have been used for centuries in various applications, including household appliances, industrial drives, and transportation. Because their electricity consumption amounts to billions, even a small percentage increase in efficiency can result in significant savings and a significant reduction in carbon dioxide.
High demand from the energy sector
The energy generation sectors have been using more soft magnetic materials. Soft magnetic materials are used in computers, power inductors, transformers, electric motors, alternators, and AC/DC converters. According to Power Technology Research, there were about 2,500 power transformers in the US market at the end of 2022 (PTR). Furthermore, more than 68 million desktops were shipped globally in 2023. Desktop shipments are predicted to increase marginally to approximately 69 million units by 2027.
Moreover, notebook shipments are anticipated to increase from 207 million units in 2022 to over 214 million units in 2027. Various electronic devices, including wireless charging, sensors, high-frequency goods, data storage devices, etc., use soft magnetic materials. The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA) predicted the global electronics and IT industry to reach USD 3,436.8 billion in production by 2023, growing at a rate of 3% annually.
Asia Pacific is witnessing exponential growth during the forecast period
Major drivers responsible for the growth in the Asia Pacific market are the expansion of the car manufacturers’ base and intensified investments in technologically advanced electronics, including telecommunications. With major players shifting their attention from developed to developing nations such as South Korea, China, or India, demand for products has grown.
The major nations driving demand for soft magnetic materials in the Asia-Pacific region are China and Japan. Exponentially, it has grown in China's automobile industry. In China, there are 2,559.47 gigawatts worth of installed power generation capacity, according to the China Electricity Council (CEC). Geothermal power plants account for more than half of this power formation ability. Approximately 78% of it was from coal today from their combined capacity of 1,332.39 gigawatts in 2022.
In January 2024, JFE Steel Corporation announced that it had designed, prototyped, and tested an axial-gap motor that achieves the same power as larger radial-gap motors while being 48% thinner and 40% lighter than comparable axial-gap motors. The motor was made possible by using JFE Steel's insulation-coated pure iron powder Denjiro® in collaboration with JFE Techno-Research Corporation and Armis Corporation, a company formed by Shizuoka University. Pancake motors, also referred to as thin axial-gap motors, are becoming more and more popular. They achieve a smaller form factor than traditional radial-gap motors by using magnetic-flux paths parallel to the motor's axis of rotation.
In January 2022, Denjiro, an insulating-coated pure iron powder for soft magnetic composites, was also introduced by JFE Steel Corporation. This product has been added to their extensive lineup of soft magnetic materials and is perfectly suited for axial gap motors.
| Report Metric | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Market Size in 2025 | USD 32.3 billion |
| Total Market Size in 2030 | USD 49.8 billion |
| Forecast Unit | Billion |
| Growth Rate | 9.0% |
| Study Period | 2020 to 2030 |
| Historical Data | 2020 to 2023 |
| Base Year | 2024 |
| Forecast Period | 2025 – 2030 |
| Segmentation | TYPE, APPLICATION, END-USER INDUSTRY, GEOGRAPHY |
| Geographical Segmentation | North America, South America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific |
| Companies |
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