Key material for eliminating EMI noise in power converters
Import substitution effect and overseas export prospects upon successful localization

The development of technology to localize nanocrystalline ribbon materials for electric vehicles, which were previously dependent on overseas sources, is expected to significantly contribute to reducing import dependency for manufacturers of electric vehicle power converters.

A research team led by Dr. Jaewon Jeong at the Metal Powder Research Laboratory of the Korea Institute of Materials Science has succeeded in developing a technology to localize high-saturation magnetization and high-permeability soft magnetic nanocrystalline ribbon materials used in electric vehicle power converters.

The technology developed this time is a manufacturing technology for ultra-thin soft magnetic materials that increases saturation magnetization by more than 30% compared to existing materials currently entirely dependent on imports, while exhibiting permeability characteristics at an equivalent level.

Ultra-thin nanocrystalline alloy ribbon material is a key material for eliminating EMI noise in power converters installed in rapidly growing electric vehicles.

Currently, due to the lack of domestic technology and industrial infrastructure to manufacture the material, imported materials also rely on existing alloys. Even these exhibit low saturation magnetization characteristics, making it difficult to meet the future demand for component miniaturization.

For miniaturization, the saturation magnetization of the material must be higher than that of existing commercial materials; however, increasing the iron content to achieve this lowers the material's amorphous formation ability, leading to higher losses. For this reason, simultaneously increasing high saturation magnetization and high permeability characteristics has long been considered a technical challenge.

Dr. Jeong's research team was able to achieve nanocrystals of the 10–20 nm level by controlling the diffusion rate within the alloy through increasing the iron content of existing alloy materials and simultaneously adding heterogeneous transition metals.

In addition, a manufacturing technology for ultra-thin soft magnetic materials was developed that increases saturation magnetization by more than 30% compared to existing materials while maintaining equivalent permeability characteristics. This material reduces the content of high-cost elements, such as niobium (Nb), which were essential in existing nanocrystalline ribbon alloys, by more than 30%, thereby enabling a reduction in manufacturing costs. It is also expected that price competitiveness can be secured upon future commercialization.

The domestic market size for nanocrystalline ribbon materials for electric vehicles is approximately 2 billion won annually as of 2021. Due to the recent rapid growth of the electric vehicle market, it is projected to reach 22.5 billion won annually by 2025. However, as the entire supply is currently imported from overseas due to a lack of domestic technology and manufacturing infrastructure, it is expected that successful localization through the development of this technology will not only have an import substitution effect but also enable exports to overseas markets. With annual global car sales reaching 80 million units, the market for nanocrystalline alloy ribbon materials for electric vehicles is expected to reach 1.5 trillion won annually once the transition from conventional internal combustion engines to electric vehicles is fully realized.

"Senior Researcher Jaewon Jeong, the principal investigator, stated, 'While extensive research is being conducted both domestically and internationally to develop nanocrystalline alloys to replace existing materials, actual commercialization has not been achieved because it has been difficult to realize materials that simultaneously satisfy high saturation magnetization and high permeability characteristics.' He added, 'If this technology is commercialized, it will enable the localization of nanocrystalline ribbon materials, which are currently entirely imported. We expect this will significantly contribute to reducing import dependency for manufacturers of electric vehicle power converters, which require this material.'"

Meanwhile, this research achievement was carried out with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT's Materials Innovation Leading Project. The research team is currently transferring the developed high-saturation magnetization/high-permeability alloy material and pilot-scale ribbon manufacturing technology to relevant companies and continuing to support their mass production, with the goal of establishing a domestic ribbon manufacturing industry and achieving complete localization of the material. The research team predicts that if mass production is achieved, it will generate approximately 20 billion won in revenue by 2025 through the production of 1,500 tons of ribbon annually.

It is predicted that the production of 1,500 tons of ribbon will generate approximately 20 billion won in revenue.