With the improvement of global industrial automation, intelligence, and people’s living standards, the application of motors in fields such as automobiles, household appliances, electronic audio and video, information processing equipment, and industrial automation will become increasingly widespread.
According to statistics, the average number of electric motors owned by each household in developed countries is 80pcs to 130pcs, while the average number of electric motors owned by households in large cities in China is around 20pcs to 40pcs, which is still far below the average level in developed countries. Therefore, there is still great room for development in the domestic electric motor industry.
Compared to motors with a history of over 200 years, BLDC motors are actually relatively young, with a history of over 50 years since their development. However, with the development of semiconductor technology and the popularization of MCU and driver components, the overall cost of BLDC motors has been greatly reduced. Therefore, in recent years, BLDC motors have developed, and their overall growth rate is also higher than that of motors.
Figure 1: Prediction of BLDC Motor Market Size
It is expected that the compound annual growth rate of BLDC motors will be around 6.5% in the coming years. According to statistics, the market size of BLDC in 2019 was approximately $16.3 billion, and it is expected to reach around $22.44 billion by 2024.
Where is the market size? What are the specific applications?
Automotive application market
With the rise of new energy vehicles, the penetration of intelligent driving, and the pilot application of the Vehicle-to-everything, the trend of automobile electronization is becoming more and more obvious.
In future cars, in addition to driving motors, electric power steering systems, electronic suspension systems, stability control systems, cruise control systems, ABS, and body systems (such as windows, door locks, seats, rearview mirrors, wipers, sunroof, etc.) will all be heavily used with electric motors.
Generally speaking, economy fuel vehicles will be equipped with around 10 motors, ordinary cars will be equipped with 20 to 30 motors, luxury cars will be equipped with 60 to 70, or even hundreds of motors, while new energy vehicles generally require 130 to 200 motors.
Figure 2: Number of Motors Used in Cars
With the increasing attention paid to the performance of automobiles, especially the requirements for comfort, safety, fuel economy, and environmental protection, the number of electronic control devices and electrical equipment in automobiles has correspondingly increased. The use of various electric devices has led to an increase in the number of motor equipment in automobiles.
New energy vehicles have been a development trend in recent years, and global policies are simultaneously promoting the development of new energy vehicles. Developed countries such as Europe and America actively layout the new energy vehicle market, promote the development of new energy vehicles through various subsidy and preferential policies and laws, and promote the transformation from traditional fuel vehicles to electric vehicles.
After July 2019 in China, due to the sharp decline of subsidies, the growth rate has declined. However, with the continuous introduction of new energy models by major automobile enterprises in 2020, especially the launch of TESLA Model 3, Volkswagen ID. 3 and other models, the industry is expected to shift from subsidy driven to demand driven, entering the second rapid growth period.
5G
2020 was a crucial year for the development of 5G in China. Although there was a delay in 5G construction in the first quarter due to the impact of the epidemic, China Mobile stated that its goal of reaching 300000 5G base stations by the end of 2020 remains unchanged. China Telecom and China Unicom will also strive to complete the construction of 250000 new 5G base stations in the third quarter to recover the impact of the epidemic. In addition to the 50000 base stations planned by China Radio and Television, China will build 600000 base stations this year.
Figure 3: Number of 5G base stations planned to be built by the four major operators in 2020
In 5G base stations, there are also many places where motors are needed, first and foremost, the base station antenna. At present, the 5G base station antenna is equipped with control motor products containing gearbox components, including two options: stepper motor and brushless motor. Each electrically adjustable antenna is equipped with a control motor with a gearbox.
In general, a regular communication base station needs to be equipped with about 3 antennas, a 4G base station needs to be equipped with 4 to 6 antennas, and the number of 5G base stations and antennas will further increase.
In addition to the base station antenna, the cooling system in the base station also requires motor products. Such as Computer fan, air conditioning compressor, etc.
Drones/Underwater Drones
Drones have been popular for several years, but not all drones use brushless motors. Nowadays, many drones are switching to brushless motors to achieve a longer, lighter body and longer endurance.
According to Droneii’s report, the global drone market size was $14.1 billion in 2018, and it is expected that by 2024, the global drone market size will reach $43.1 billion, with the fastest growing regions being Asia and North America. The compound growth rate is 20.5.
According to the Civil Aviation Administration’s “Civil Drone Mission Registration Information System”, as of the end of 2018, there were 285000 registered drones in China. By the end of 2019, there were over 392000 registered drones and 1.25 million commercial flight hours of drones.
Especially during the epidemic at the beginning of this year, drones played a significant role, such as shuttling between hospitals and disease control centers, implementing automated transportation of epidemic prevention and control emergency drugs and specimens; Circling on highways, replacing manual aerial command work; Avatar disinfection artifact, complete epidemic prevention and disinfection and sterilization in rural areas and even urban areas throughout the country; Transforming into a propaganda expert, shouting slogans and persuading people to stay at home, and so on.
Due to the impact of the epidemic, contactless delivery has once again been pushed to the forefront. In China, the Civil Aviation Administration of China launched a pilot drone logistics and distribution service last year. Due to the impact of the epidemic, the pace of progress in China should accelerate; In foreign countries, logistics giant UPS and German UAV manufacturer Wingcopter have joined hands to bring the new VTOL UAV into the freight industry to transport packages.
There is also an underwater drone that we are not very familiar with, and we are slowly starting to measure it. I remember the underwater drone company I interviewed in 2017, which happened to be in mass production and had only shipped hundreds of units through crowdfunding. Now, the annual shipment volume is tens of thousands of units.
Electric scooter/electric vehicle
The electric scooter not only retains the original riding experience, but also provides intelligent auxiliary power. It is a transportation tool that lies between bicycles and traditional electric vehicles. Electric scooters mainly provide corresponding power assistance based on riding signals through sensors, reducing the output of cyclists and making riding easier for users. Compared to bicycles, electric scooters have added motors, batteries, sensors, controllers, instruments, etc., making the riding experience more diverse. Compared with traditional electric vehicles, electric scooters do not control the speed of the vehicle by rotating the hand, but by capturing the signal of riding through sensors, so as to understand the cyclist’s riding intention, provide corresponding power assistance, and make riding more intelligent.
Figure 4: Comparison of bicycles, electric scooters, and traditional electric vehicles
The selling price of electric scooters in China ranges from 2000 to 10000 yuan. European wheel hub electric scooters are priced between 500 and 1700 euros, while mid mounted electric scooters are priced between 2300 and 3300 euros. The price of electric scooters is much higher than that of bicycles and electric vehicles.
The motor is the core component of the electrical system of the electric scooter. Due to the miniaturization, lightweight, operational efficiency, and appearance reliability of electric scooters, the performance of electric scooters is directly determined. Therefore, motor companies generally need to customize the development of motors according to the needs of electric scooters. Electric motors account for 10% to 30% of the cost of electric scooters.
There is a strong demand for electric scooters in Europe. According to data from the European Bicycle Industry Association, from 2006 to 2018, the sales of electric scooters in the European market increased from 98000 units to 2.5 million units. The annual compound growth rate reached 31%.
The Japanese market is also steadily growing. Japan was the earliest country to develop, produce, and sell electric scooters. In the 1980s, it successfully developed the first generation of electric scooters. However, due to Japan’s hilly terrain, rugged roads, and severe aging, electric scooters have become a necessary choice.
The domestic market is in its infancy. There is considerable room for future growth. At present, companies such as Mobi, Xiaomi, Harrow, Double Speed, and Eternal have begun to try to promote electric scooters in China.
Industrial robot
Industrial robots are mainly a substitute market in China, and their space is quite vast. Although China is the world’s largest industrial robot application market, in the field of industrial robots, the world’s famous manufacturers are mainly concentrated in developed countries represented by the United States, Japan, Germany, etc., such as ABB in Sweden, FANUC in Japan, Yaskawa Electric Corporation, and four families represented by Kuka in Germany.
Figure 5: Sales of industrial robots. (Data source: International Federation of Robotics)
According to data from the International Federation of Robotics, the global sales of industrial robots in 2018 were 422000 units, of which 154000 units were sold in China, accounting for 36.5%. In addition, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the production of industrial robots in China is gradually increasing, from around 33000 sets in 2015 to 187000 sets in 2018. The growth rate is rapid.
Moreover, in recent years, with the continuous introduction of industrial support by the government and the continuous breakthrough of domestic enterprises, the localization rate of domestic industrial robots has been continuously increasing. In the first half of 2018, the domestic proportion of robot body sales increased from 19.42% in 2015 to 28.48%. At the same time, the overall sales of industrial robots in China have also maintained growth.
Fan
Fans include: fans, range hoods, hair dryers, curtain fans, HVAC fans, etc. The main downstream manufacturers include Midea, Emmett, Gree, Pioneer, Vantage, Boss, and so on.
From the perspective of household fans, this is a very large market, and the production of household fans in China is very large. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2018, the production of household fans in China was 180 million units. There was no data for December 2017, but the data for 11 months was 160 million units. In 2016, it was 160 million units, and it is estimated that there were around 190 million units in 2019.
Figure 6: Production of household fans in China. (Data source: National Bureau of Statistics)
At present, the mainstream Small appliance manufacturers in China, such as Midea, Pioneer, Nichrome, Emmett, etc., basically have products with brushless motors on the market. Among them, Emmett has the largest quantity and Xiaomi has the lowest cost.
With the entry of cross-border manufacturers such as Xiaomi, the conversion rate of brushless motors in the field of household fans has begun to accelerate. Now, in the field of household fans, domestic manufacturers of brushless motors have a place.
In addition to household fans, there are also equipment Computer fan. In fact, equipment fan thermal fans began to switch to brushless motors many years ago. There is a benchmark enterprise in this field, namely Ebm-papst, whose fan and motor products are widely used in many industries such as ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, household appliances, heating and automobile.
At present, many companies in China are making brushless Computer fan similar to EBM, and have occupied many EBM markets.
Especially with the rise of domestic Charging station, domestic manufacturers should have great opportunities. Now the country has also included Charging station in the “New Infrastructure” project, which should have greater development this year.
There are also freezer cooling fans. Due to the influence of industry standards and national energy efficiency standards, the freezer cooling fans have started to switch to BLDC motors, and the conversion speed is relatively fast, resulting in a relatively large number of products. It is expected that 60% of freezer cooling machines will be replaced with variable frequency motors by 2022. At present, the domestic supporting manufacturers of freezer cooling machines are mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions.
In terms of fans, there is also a range hood, which is an important component of kitchen appliances. However, due to cost reasons, the brushless conversion rate of the range hood is still not high. At present, the frequency conversion scheme is about 150 yuan, but non brushless motor schemes can be completed within a hundred yuan, and low-cost ones can even cost around 30 yuan.
Many new fans and air purifiers also use brushless motor solutions. At present, small products on the market generally use Nedic’s external rotor motors, while large air purifiers generally use EBM fans.
In addition, there is an air circulation fan that has been in production since the past two years, and its current value is relatively high. Generally, the finished product costs 781 units, and there are also a few more expensive ones, ranging from 2000 to 3000 units.
Compressor
Due to the fact that the speed of the refrigerator compressor determines the temperature inside the refrigerator, the speed of the variable frequency refrigerator compressor can be changed based on the temperature, allowing the refrigerator to make adjustments based on the current temperature situation and better maintain a constant temperature inside the refrigerator. In this way, the preservation effect of food will be better. Most variable frequency refrigerator compressors choose BLDC motors, which result in higher efficiency, lower noise, and longer service life when working.
Figure 7: Sales of refrigerators and variable frequency refrigerators in China. (Data source: National Bureau of Statistics)
This field used to be dominated by products from Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese manufacturers, but after 2010, domestic manufacturers have started rapidly. It is said that one manufacturer in Shanghai has an annual shipment volume of nearly 30 million units.
With the progress of domestic semiconductor manufacturers, whether it is the master MCU manufacturers, the pre drive Gate Driver, or the Power MOSFET, domestic manufacturers can basically provide.
Also, there is the air conditioning compressor. Currently, variable frequency air conditioning has been widely accepted, and variable frequency air conditioning has become the trend. The production of air conditioners in China is also quite large. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the production of air conditioning motors in 2018 was 360 million units, and the production of BLDC motors for air conditioning was about 96 million units. Moreover, the production of BLDC motors for air conditioning is basically increasing every year.
Electric tools
Electric tools are one of the most widely used hardware and electromechanical products. Due to its lightweight structure, convenient portability, high production efficiency, and low energy consumption, it is widely used in drilling, cutting, and grinding processes in various application industries such as construction, decoration, wood processing, metal processing, and other manufacturing industries.
With the continuous development of technology and the gradual acceptance of the DIY concept, the application range of electric tools is also constantly expanding. Many traditional manual tool operations are beginning to be replaced by electric tools, and electric tools are also expanding from industrial applications to family life. The demand for electric tools is increasing year by year.
Brushless electric tools have actually started a long time ago. In 2010, some foreign brands introduced electric tools using brushless motors. With the maturity of lithium-ion battery technology, prices are becoming more affordable, and the size of handheld tools is increasing year by year. They can now be divided equally with plug-in tools.
According to statistics, domestic electric wrenches have basically been brushless, while electric drills, high-voltage tools, and garden tools have not yet been completely brushless, but they are also in the process of conversion.
This is mainly due to the energy-saving and high efficiency of brushless motors, allowing handheld electric tools to run for longer periods of time. Nowadays, many international and domestic manufacturers have invested a lot of resources in product development, such as Bosch, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Makita, etc.
At present, the development of electric tools in China is also very rapid, especially in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions, where many electric tool manufacturers are concentrated. In recent years, the cost of brushless motor control solutions in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions has decreased rapidly, and many manufacturers have launched price wars. It is said that a brushless motor control solution for an electric tool costs only about 6 to 7 yuan, and some even only cost 4 to 5 yuan.
Pump
Water pumps are a relatively traditional industry with a wide variety of types and solutions. Even for drive boards with the same power, there are currently various types available on the market, with prices ranging from less than two yuan to between forty and fifty yuan.
In the application of water pumps, three-phase asynchronous motors are mainly used for medium to large power, while AC bipolar pumps are mainly used for small and micro water pumps. The current northern heating renovation is a good opportunity for technological innovation in pump solutions.
If only from a technical perspective, brushless motors are more suitable for application in the field of pumps, as they have certain advantages in volume, power density, and even cost.
Personal Health Care
In terms of personal health care, there are two representative products, one is Dyson’s popular internet product, the air duct, and the other is the fascia gun.
Since Dyson launched the wind duct product using high-speed digital motors, it has sparked the entire wind duct market.
According to the introduction of Qian Zhicun from Jingfeng Mingyuan in the past, there are currently three main directions for domestic wind tunnel schemes: one is based on Dyson as the benchmark, using an ultra-high speed brushless motor scheme, with a general speed of around 100000 revolutions per minute, with the highest being 160000 revolutions per minute; The second option is to replace the U motor, which has a speed similar to that of the U motor, but has the advantages of light weight and high air pressure; The third is the external rotor high-voltage scheme, with the motor mainly imitating Nedic’s scheme.
At present, domestic imitation products are not simply copied in the past, but have basically achieved patent avoidance and made certain innovations.
The shipment volume of fascia guns has started to surge in recent years. It is said that gym coaches and sports enthusiasts are now equipped with fascia guns. The fascia gun utilizes the mechanical principles of vibration to transmit the vibration to the deep fascia muscles, achieving the effect of relaxing the fascia and reducing muscle tension. Some people use the fascia gun as a relaxation tool after exercise.
However, the water in the fascia gun is also very deep now. Although the appearance looks similar, the prices range from over 100 yuan to over 3000 yuan. The market price of the BLDC motor control drive board used in the fascia gun has now dropped to 8. x yuan, and even a control drive board of around 6 yuan has appeared. The price of the fascia gun has rapidly decreased.
It is said that a motor manufacturer was about to go bankrupt, but with the help of a fascial gun product, it immediately came back to life. And it was quite nourishing.
Of course, in addition to these two products, there is also a trend towards brushless motors in products such as shavers for boys and beauty machines for girls.
Conclusion
Overall, BLDC motors are still in their early stages and their applications are now flourishing. In addition to the ones I mentioned here, there are also many, such as service robots, AGVs, sweeping robots, wall breakers, fryers, dishwashers, and so on. In fact, there are many places in our lives where we use electric motors, and there are still many applications waiting for us to explore in the future.
Post time: Jul-15-2023
