Northeast: Upgraded energy efficiency standards drive growth in the motor industry; amorphous motors are an important development direction.

Northeast released a research report stating that growth in the motor industry mainly comes from upgraded energy efficiency standards, downstream demand expansion, technological upgrading, and replacement of existing equipment. Although standards in major global markets differ in system, the overall direction is consistent, namely driving inefficient products out of the market by raising minimum energy efficiency requirements and creating demand for high-efficiency products such as IE4 and IE5. It is becoming increasingly difficult for traditional silicon steel motors to further improve efficiency, and amorphous motors are an important development direction for motors. Northeast's main points are as follows: Upgraded energy efficiency standards are an important factor driving growth in the motor industry Growth in the motor industry mainly comes from upgraded energy efficiency standards, downstream demand expansion, technological upgrading, and replacement of existing equipment. Major global markets continue to raise minimum energy efficiency requirements for motors, and policy upgrades and replacement of existing equipment jointly drive demand growth for high-efficiency motors. Policy promotion not only increases the share of high-efficiency motors in new equipment sales but also accelerates the elimination of inefficient motors in the existing stock. Technological upgrading mainly unfolds along two paths: high efficiency and intelligence. High-efficiency motors reduce losses by optimizing electromagnetic design, materials, and manufacturing processes, while intelligent motors achieve condition monitoring, fault diagnosis, and operation optimization through sensors, control algorithms, and the Internet of Things. Replacement of existing equipment is another important growth driver. A large number of industrial motors have been in operation for more than 10 years, and with equipment renewal and upgraded energy efficiency standards, old and inefficient motors are gradually entering a concentrated replacement cycle. Compared with relying solely on demand for new equipment, replacement of existing equipment can form a more stable long-term market. Motor energy efficiency standards are an important policy tool driving technological upgrading The IEC60034 series of standards constitutes an important basis for international motor energy efficiency classification, dividing motor efficiency into IE1 to IE5 levels. As energy efficiency standards continue to rise, IE4 is gradually becoming an important market threshold for high-efficiency industrial motors, while IE5 represents a higher level of efficiency requirements. The European Union is in a leading position in motor energy efficiency regulation. EU ecodesign regulations continue to expand the coverage of high-efficiency motors and gradually raise minimum energy efficiency requirements for industrial motors, while also incorporating variable frequency drive systems into energy efficiency regulation. The United States mainly adopts the NEMA standards system. The NEMA Premium program continues to raise requirements for high-efficiency motors, and the U.S. Department of Energy is also advancing new energy efficiency requirements for industrial motors to reduce long-term industrial electricity consumption. China has established a motor energy efficiency standards system centered on GB18613-2020 and continues to raise energy efficiency limit values. Permanent magnet synchronous motors are subject to energy efficiency constraints under standards such as GB30253. Although standards in major global markets differ in system, the overall direction is consistent, namely driving inefficient products out of the market by raising minimum energy efficiency requirements and creating demand for high-efficiency products such as IE4 and IE5. It is becoming increasingly difficult for traditional silicon steel motors to further improve efficiency After long-term development, traditional silicon steel motors have formed a mature materials, manufacturing, and supply chain system and are the mainstream technical route for industrial motors today. However, as energy efficiency requirements continue to rise, it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to further improve efficiency. From the perspective of material performance, reducing iron loss in silicon steel mainly relies on improving magnetic properties, reducing strip thickness, and optimizing alloy composition. Reducing the thickness of silicon steel sheets from 0.50 mm to 0.35 mm can significantly reduce high-frequency eddy current losses, but the thinner the material, the higher the requirements for rolling, shearing, and processing precision, and manufacturing difficulty and costs also increase accordingly. Amorphous motors are an important development direction for motors Compared with traditional silicon steel motors, amorphous motors can already form a relatively obvious efficiency advantage. At present, the comprehensive efficiency of amorphous motors has improved somewhat compared with traditional silicon steel motors, with the specific improvement depending on factors such as motor power, operating speed, load rate, operating frequency, core structure, and the proportion of amorphous material used. Public information from Bomatec shows that test results for its amorphous stator IPM motor indicate that motor efficiency increased by more than 3% after using amorphous materials. Risk warnings: risks related to the cost and industrialization of amorphous materials; risk of competition from substitute technologies; risks related to downstream demand and market promotion; risk that India's launch of an anti-dumping investigation into imported amorphous strip and silicon steel may affect demand for the corresponding commodities.