Abstract: Data show that from 2015 to 2022, the mainland's steel output increased from 1.035 billion tons to 1.34 billion tons. In the case of strong demand for alloying elements in the steel field, alloying element additives, as an important material for steel smelting, are expected to gain huge incremental space in the context of the rapid development of the mainland manufacturing industry.
1. Definitions and Classification
Alloy is a substance with metallic properties formed by the fusion of two or more metals, or metals and non-metals, and its properties are generally better than those of pure metals. Alloying elements refer to the special properties of materials can be obtained by adding a certain amount of one or more metal or non-metallic elements when alloys are manufactured, such as improving strength, improving oxidation resistance, improving plasticity and process properties, etc., and these auxiliary element materials are called alloying elements. In the manufacturing process of different alloys, the optional addition methods of alloying elements are also different, which can be mainly divided into three types: direct addition method, master alloy addition method, and alloying element additive addition method.
Second, industry policies
Metal functional materials such as alloying element additives are key basic materials for high-end alloy manufacturing, and belong to one of the strategic emerging industries supported by the state. In recent years, in the context of the dual carbon goal, relevant national ministries and commissions have continuously improved policies to promote energy conservation, environmental protection and green development of the steel industry; At the same time, it has also successively issued relevant industrial policies, by setting the development goals of the comprehensive support capacity of key strategic materials, clarifying the development priorities and application scenarios of key strategic materials, accelerating the development of the new materials industry, and then promoting technological innovation, supporting industrial upgrading, building a manufacturing power, and creating a good policy environment for the development of the alloying element additives industry.
3. Industry barriers
1. Technical barriers
Alloying element additives involve physics, chemistry, powder metallurgy, materials science and other multidisciplinary blending, the performance of the product needs to go through research and demonstration, repeated tests, data analysis, production inspection (some high-end alloys need to be finally tested in the terminal application field), engaged in the industry not only need to have materials science, metallurgy, chemistry and other knowledge reserves of high-quality talents, but also need rich industry experience, long-term experimental accumulation, continuous R & D investment, etc., thus constituting a technical barrier for enterprises to enter the industry.
2. Financial barriers
Because the raw materials used in the alloying element additives industry are Mn, Si, Fe, Ti and other metals, the price is higher and the purchase in accordance with industry practice generally needs to pay advance payment, and the procurement of raw materials needs to occupy a larger scale of funds, and the downstream customers are generally steel, aluminum alloy production enterprises, there will generally be a certain period of time when realizing the sales collection, and the financial strength of industry enterprises, especially large-scale enterprises, is higher. In addition, a large number of experimental analysis and long-term R&D investment, as well as production equipment and analytical testing experimental equipment, all require sufficient financial guarantee. Therefore, new entrants in the industry need to have a strong capital scale and fund-raising capacity.
3. Customer barriers
The downstream customers of the alloying element additives industry are mainly aluminum alloy and steel preparation enterprises, generally large-scale enterprises, especially high-end steel and high-end aluminum alloy manufacturers, all of which are international large-scale well-known giant enterprises, which have strict requirements for supplier production environment, product quality and other aspects of certification, but after the industry enterprises pass the downstream customer certification and form a stable supply relationship, the possibility of being replaced is also small. Downstream customers' requirements for strict certification of supplier production systems and supplier stability have brought high customer barriers to new entrants in the industry.
Fourth, the industrial chain
From the perspective of the industrial chain, the upstream of the industrial chain of alloying element additives is mainly the supply of raw materials, mainly including the corresponding metals and some chemical additives required for additives. Among them, the cost of direct raw materials such as metals is the main component of the manufacturing cost of the alloying element additives industry. Affected by factors such as supply and demand, the fluctuation of raw material prices will have a certain impact on the sales performance of industry enterprises; The downstream of the industry is the production of various alloys such as steel, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, etc., which are ultimately used in automobiles, rail transit, aerospace, military industry, electronic technology and other fields. Among them, steel and aluminum alloy are the largest downstream demand areas, but at present, the alloy preparation of the steel industry is still dominated by ferroalloys or pure metals, so alloying element additives are mainly concentrated in the field of aluminum alloys.
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