Profit Level Trend and Technical Level Characteristics of New Energy Special Cable Industry
As China's national strategy for the next 40 years, "carbon neutrality" will profoundly change corporate behavior and residents' lifestyles at all levels, and will also have a huge impact on the transformation of the economic structure. Renewable energy will enter a big era, and industries such as photovoltaics, new energy vehicles, and energy storage directly related to carbon neutrality will usher in huge development opportunities.
1. Industry Characteristics
(1) Cyclicity
The development of the new energy special cable industry is closely related to the downstream photovoltaic industry and the new energy vehicle industry, and the cyclical development of the new energy special cable industry is mainly affected by the downstream market demand.
In the photovoltaic field, the newly installed capacity of photovoltaic power plants was relatively high during the period of rapid economic development and high government subsidies, while it was relatively low during the period of economic downturn. With the gradual advancement of photovoltaic affordable internet access, the dependence of photovoltaic enterprises on subsidies has gradually decreased, and the cyclicity of the photovoltaic industry is leveling off.
At present, the domestic new energy vehicle industry mainly provides products and services to end customers in the municipal and private sectors, which is mainly affected by the national energy conservation, emission reduction, and subsidy policies. In recent years, the domestic new energy vehicle industry is still on the rise, and there is no obvious cyclical feature in the industry.
(2) Regionality
The downstream industry of the new energy special cable industry mainly provides supporting special cables for photovoltaic module manufacturers, automotive wiring harness companies, etc., so the regionality of the new energy special cable industry is related to the distribution of downstream customers and industrial chains.
(3) Seasonality
The production and sales of the new energy special cable industry are mainly affected by the seasonal influence of the downstream photovoltaic and new energy vehicle industries. There is no obvious seasonality in the photovoltaic cable industry.
The production and sales of new energy vehicle cables are greatly affected by the production plan of the downstream new energy vehicle industry. In general, the sales scale of the new energy special cable industry is relatively high in the second half of the year.
2. Trends and Reasons for Changes in Industry Profit Levels
In recent years, global energy issues have become increasingly prominent. "Carbon neutrality" and "green recovery" have become a global consensus. To achieve carbon neutrality, we must start from both the emission side and the emission reduction side, and develop renewable energy vigorously. Governments around the world pay great attention to and support the new energy industry out of consideration for environmental protection and the sustainability of energy utilization. In this context, the photovoltaic and new energy vehicle industry ushered in a window period of rapid development.
The new energy special cable industry belongs to the industry with "heavy materials and light work". The price of upstream raw materials has an important impact on the industry's profit level, and the price of copper wire in raw materials fluctuates frequently, which is an important factor affecting the industry's profit level in terms of production costs. In addition, the development rhythm and trend of the photovoltaic and new energy vehicle industries have an important impact on the industry's profit level from the perspective of market demand. The technical level, product competitiveness, brand influence, and management level of enterprises in the industry also play an important role in the industry's profit level.
3. The Technical Level and Technical Characteristics of the Industry
(1) Industry Technical Level
Cables are mainly used for power transmission, distribution and signal transmission.Their functions are mainly realized through physical and electrical properties. The operating environment and technical requirements of different fields have different requirements for the performance of the supporting cables.
Photovoltaic cables are exposed to the external natural environment for a long time,such as strong ultraviolet rays, heat, cold, rain, snow, frost, humidity and pollution. They are required to withstand the action of various mechanical external forces. Therefore, there are strict assessment standards for the performance of photovoltaic cables. In addition, since the required service life of photovoltaic modules is 25 years, the service life of the matching photovoltaic cables is higher than that of ordinary cables.
In addition to the characteristics of softness, abrasion resistance and corrosion resistance, the following main characteristics are also required for the high-voltage cables in new energy vehicles: 1) high-pressure resistance, 2) thermal aging resistance, 3) electromagnetic compatibility, 4) flame resistance.
The charging cables for new energy vehicles are mainly used to connect new energy vehicles and charging piles. Under long-term exposure to environmental conditions, they are required to satisfy the characteristics of moisture resistance, low-temperature resistance, and weather resistance. They are being bent, dragged, and moved frequently when in use, which is easy to cause damage such as abrading, scratching, crushing, etc., so the charging cables are required to have good physical and mechanical properties. There are higher requirements for the weight, softness, flexibility, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of the cables.
(2) Technical Characteristics of the Industry
The technical core of cable production includes three parts: material, structural design, and preparation process. Due to the special use environment of photovoltaic and new energy vehicle cables, higher requirements are placed on the performance of cable materials and preparation processes.
In addition, since photovoltaic and new energy vehicle cables are important supporting components for photovoltaic modules and new energy vehicles, the stability of their performance directly affects the efficiency of photovoltaic power generation as well as the safety and reliability of new energy vehicle operation. Therefore, they are subject to many performance tests.
4. Industry Entry Barriers
(1) Qualification Certification Barriers
Many customers have strict requirements on the mechanical properties, electrical properties, and reliability of photovoltaic cables in various climates. Several countries and regions such as the European Union and Japan have established industry access standards for photovoltaic products sold locally. To obtain the corresponding qualification certificate, enterprises must have certain conditions such as technology, capital, and manpower, which form certain obstacles to market access.
New energy vehicle cables are the safety parts of new energy vehicles. New energy vehicle manufacturers are very strict in the selection of new energy vehicle cable suppliers. The certification process of new energy vehicle cables is complex and time-consuming, and the barriers to certification are high.
(2) Technical Barriers
The diversity of product types and the complexity of the production process have formed a high technical barrier to the product research and development, production design, and equipment operation capabilities of enterprises.
(3) Barriers to Specialized Production
The production of special cables has strict requirements on production equipment and production technology. In the production process of special cables, it is not only necessary to precisely control the relevant technical parameters, but also requires enterprises to have a sophisticated level of on-site management. Professional production management requirements constitute a certain barrier for new entrants to the industry.
(4) Brand Barriers
The cables of new energy vehicle wiring harness manufacturers often come from the supplier list of end customers. Because of the high requirements of new energy vehicle customers for safety performance, cable manufacturers with good brand awareness in the industry have the opportunity to be included in the supplier list of end customers.
The cable industry requires a large capital investment and has high requirements on the scale of corporate liquidity and capital turnover efficiency. In addition, the technology of the cable industry continues to improve and the competition in the industry becomes increasingly fierce, cable companies need to continuously invest manpower, financial and material resources in the research and development of new products and technologies. Only companies with a certain scale and financial strength can continuously carry out product and technology research as well as development upgrades.
