In the wave of high-end transformation of the manufacturing industry, powder metallurgy technology is becoming the focus of global competition. From technology research and development to industrial application, there is a differentiated development pattern at home and abroad, and the explosion of demand in automobiles, new energy, aerospace and other fields has injected sustainable growth momentum into the industry.

International technology leads the way, focusing on high-end breakthroughs

Manufacturing powerhouses such as Europe, the United States and Japan have long occupied the high ground of powder metallurgy technology, forming a competitive advantage of "high-end monopoly + full-chain maturity". Swedish SSAB, American Honeywell and other enterprises dominate the global high-end market, and have core patents in powdered high-speed steel, aerospace high-temperature alloys and other fields. Its powder preparation purity can reach more than 99.99%, and hot and static pressure sintering technology can achieve precise control of parts density of 99.5%.

These countries have built a perfect industry-academia-research system. Germany has deeply integrated powder metallurgy and 3D printing to develop an integrated manufacturing process for aircraft engine turbine blades, and the production cycle is 60% shorter than that of traditional processes;Japan has made a breakthrough in the field of electronics. Its metal injection molding (MIM) technology can manufacture micro-parts with a wall thickness of 0.15 mm, occupying more than 70% of the global high-end electronic components market. In 2024, North America and Europe together account for 52% of the global powder metallurgy market, with a significant technology premium.

China is accelerating to catch up, leaping from scale to quality

China's powder metallurgy industry is undergoing a transformation from "scale expansion" to "technological breakthrough". In 2025, the domestic output will exceed 1.8 million tons, and the market size will exceed 100 billion. It has become the world's second largest producer. The annual output value of Jinan Steel City and other industrial clusters will increase by 20.8% year-on-year.

in technologyIn terms of breakthroughs, Tiangong International and other enterprises broke foreign monopolies and built the first large-scale powder metallurgy production line in China, with an annual production capacity of 5,000 tons. The toughness of the powder high-speed steel it developed is 40% higher than that of traditional materials; key breakthroughs have been achieved in the field of nuclear energy. The high-temperature and irradiation-resistant alloy steel developed by the enterprise is ITER plans to provide domestic solutions that can reduce import dependence by 65%. However, there are still problems such as high-end powder dependence on imports and high cost of small and medium-sized mass production in China, and the localization rate of high-end markets is less than 30%.

Market demand explodes, multi-field-driven growth

The global powder metallurgy market is expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 7.6%, with a market size of 8.861 billion US dollars in 2024, and is expected to climb to 15 in 2031 0.100 million US dollars. The automobile field is the core driving force, accounting for 57.7% of the global market share. The demand for lightweight new energy vehicles has driven the annual increase in the use of stainless steel and aluminum powder, and the use of powder metallurgy parts in a single vehicle has reached 80 kilograms.

Emerging fields have become a new engine of growth: the demand for fusion reactor structural materials in the nuclear energy field has driven the market size of high-temperature powder alloys to grow by 22% per year; the demand for customized implants and metal powders for 3D printing in the medical field has increased by more than 18%; the high temperature in the aerospace field The alloy powder market continues to expand due to the demand for engine upgrading. The Asia-Pacific region has become the core of growth. With China's manufacturing upgrading dividends, the average annual growth rate is expected to reach 5.1% in 2029.

From the international leading and domestic catch-up technology pattern to the explosive market demand in many fields, the powder metallurgy industry is in a golden period of development. As domestic enterprises continue to break through the "stuck neck" technology and the expansion of emerging application scenarios, the global industrial center of gravity is expected to accelerate to the Asia-Pacific region, providing core support for the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry.