Sinolink: The intergenerational leap in power density boosts the total value of capacitors. The Chinese capacitor industry chain is growing in depth and strength.

Sinolink stated in its research report that capacitors have been repositioned from a "supporting link" to a "bottleneck position", and the change in the importance has led to a qualitative change. The intergenerational leap in power density has directly increased the usage of passive components, the value of power supply systems, and the total value of capacitors. The simultaneous presence of three types of capacitors, including AIDC peak shaving, filtering, and energy storage, forms a complete chain coverage. The Chinese position in the capacitor industry chain is deep and complete, with stronger industrial depth. Sinolink's main points are as follows: Capacitors serve as "energy buffers for computing power", with the former matching the data throughput rate and computing power rate, and the latter matching the power supply rate and computing power. According to Morgan Stanley's disassembly calculation of NVIDIA's next-generation VR200 NVL72 rack BOM, the value of MLCC in a single VR200 cabinet is approximately $4,320, an increase of 182% compared to about $1,530 in the GB300; NVIDIA has increased the energy storage capacity 20 times in the Vera Rubin NVL72 rack compared to the previous generation to maintain power stability. Capacitors have been repositioned from a "supporting link" to a "bottleneck position", and the change in importance has led to a qualitative change. The surge in computing power drives a doubling of power consumption, ushering in an intergenerational transition in the passive component chain. The power consumption of AI server cabinets has exceeded the hundred-kilowatt threshold - the Supermicro Blackwell solution manual shows that the typical working power consumption of the GB300 NVL72 cabinet is about 132-140kW; the Vera Rubin NVL72 cabinet, which continues the Oberon architecture, has a total power consumption of about 600kW and will use 800VDC power supply. The doubling of power consumption directly translates to a doubling of passive component usage - Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. disclosed that a single GB300 AI server requires about 30,000 MLCCs, and a single AI cabinet consumes up to 440,000 MLCCs; TrendForce data shows that a single VR200 cabinet will use approximately 600,000 MLCCs, which is more than 30% higher than the GB300. The intergenerational leap in power density directly increases the usage of passive components, the value of power supply systems, and the total value of capacitors. With the simultaneous presence of three types of capacitors, AIDC peak shaving, filtering, and energy storage form a complete chain coverage. The internal structure of AI servers is not a single category, but is formed by three types of capacitors into a functional matrix: MLCC plate capacitors are deployed around the GPU/CPU to provide nanosecond level voltage filtering; aluminum electrolytic capacitors (including stacked foil capacitors) are deployed on the PSU power supply side to provide intermediate level filtering; super capacitors are deployed on the cabinet power frame to provide millisecond to second level energy storage peak shaving. The three types of capacitors in AI servers have complementary functions, coexist in quantity, and are not substitutes. NVIDIA's 800VHVDC white paper released at the OCP Global AI Summit emphasizes the "combination of large-scale energy storage and super capacitors", while the SST and super capacitors form a functional pairing of "medium pressure conversion + instantaneous peak shaving" - continuous reconstruction of AIDC power paths continues to increase the total amount of capacitors. The main stage for capacitors is in China, as domestic manufacturers have core competitiveness in the entire chain from material to product technology. The Chinese position in the capacitor industry chain is deep and complete. In the upstream electrode foil sector, Chinese manufacturers have core competitiveness in three sub-segments: corrosion foil, conversion foil, and stacked foil. Guangdong Hec Technology Holding has global exclusive patents for stacked foil capacitors and the world's only stacked foil capacitor factory. The market penetration rate of stacked foil capacitors is expected to reach 1%, 10%, and 30% in 2024, 2027, and 2030 respectively, with corresponding output values of 6 billion yuan, 60 billion yuan, and 180 billion yuan. In the midstream finished product sector, Chinese manufacturers already have the ability to cover the entire industry chain from materials to finished products, including core categories such as aluminum electrolytic capacitors, super capacitors, MLPC, and stacked foil capacitors. The main stage for capacitors is in China, with stronger industrial depth.