Over the past half-century of industrialisation, the global seaborne iron ore market took shape and solidified into a "duopoly" supply structure dominated by Australia's Pilbara region and Brazil's Carajás and Iron Quadrangle regions. However, with the evolution of macroeconomic cycles, the structural shift in China's economic growth momentum, and the historic imperative for the global steel industry to transition toward low-carbonisation and green development, this traditional supply landscape is undergoing an unprecedented reshaping. On November 26, 2025, as the first commercial vessel loaded with Simandou iron ore slowly departed Mabariya Port for the open sea, Guinea's Simandou iron mine officially commenced production. As the world's largest and highest-quality greenfield iron ore project, this milestone signalled the gradual rise of the African continent—long relegated to a secondary position—as an important emerging force in the global ferrous metals market. Why should we pay attention to the African market? The African continent's iron ore resources are regarded as the third most important region for global iron ore supply, after Brazil's Carajás region and Australia's Pilbara region. The sheer scale and high grade of its resources account for 13.8% of global iron ore resources. It is also set to be the primary supply-side growth driver over the next five years. Therefore, changes in African iron ore will long remain a key market determining international iron ore prices . This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the current status and landscape of African iron ore and select steel markets, offers an in-depth discussion of future development trends, and presents a data-driven outlook on market changes. I. Global Iron Ore Background According to SMM survey data, as of 2025, global iron ore production is estimated at approximately 2.472 billion mt. Of this, Africa contributed approximately 95 million mt, accounting for nearly 4% of total global production. With the successive commissioning of various large-scale mining projects, Africa's iron ore capacity is expected to double by 2030, reaching a scale of nearly 259 million mt. Assuming no production cuts in other regions, Africa-produced iron ore's global market share is expected to rise to nearly 10%, while the global iron ore market's oversupply is estimated to increase to approximately 220 million mt. (Chart-1: Balance Sheet) Although the international iron ore market has already entered a prolonged cycle of loose supply, the substantive supply shock from African iron ore is expected to materialise gradually only over the next five years. In the short term, based on an estimated 15 million mt of new African shipments in 2026, their outstanding high-grade characteristics are expected to quickly meet steel mills' current demand for low-carbon ore blending, allowing the market to absorb them smoothly, with a relatively mild impact on absolute international iron ore prices. The key point to watch will be from 2028 to 2029. As railway, port, and other infrastructure facilities still under development in Africa are fully connected, the surge in high-grade iron ore production will exert heavy downward pressure on the right side of the global iron ore cost curve. This will not only systematically push down the price center of iron ore but also trigger intense structural squeeze; that is, the survival space for low-grade, high-cost mines will be significantly compressed. This price downcycle is expected to persist through 2028. When international ore prices fall below the marginal cost support level of $90/mt, non-mainstream small mines on the far right of the cost curve will be forced to shut down and exit the market. By then, the global iron ore supply landscape will have completed a new round of reshuffle, re-forming a multi-oligopoly ecosystem dominated by ultra-large, low-cost mines (including new African mines), supplemented by quality mid-sized mines. (Chart-2: Price Forecast Curve) II. African Market Current Landscape: South Africa as the Dominant Leader with Multiple Strong Players, West African Countries Actively Expanding Having analyzed the foundation of the global iron ore market landscape, the focus will now shift to the overall situation in Africa. As the primary driving force behind supply growth over the next five years, Africa's iron ore production is concentrated in West Africa and South Africa. Currently, Africa is dominated by three major countries. Among them, South Africa is the largest producer, with production reaching approximately 67 million mt in 2025, and its export shipments firmly hold an absolute dominant position of approximately 65% of Africa's total iron ore exports. However, constrained by potential structural limitations, the future organic growth potential of South Africa's iron ore industry is relatively limited. As major iron ore projects in other emerging resource-rich African countries successively come into production and release capacity, South Africa's share in Africa's overall export market is expected to face sustained contraction. Next is Mauritania, as Africa's second-largest iron ore producer, with production of 15 million mt in 2025 and export volumes of approximately 12 million mt, accounting for 12% of the African market. Mauritania borders the Atlantic Ocean, possesses abundant high-grade iron ore deposits deep in the Sahara Desert, and enjoys exceptionally favorable geographic location and mineral resources. Moreover, it is within close proximity to European and Middle Eastern markets that urgently need green industrial raw materials, providing it with unique advantages for absorbing the global transfer of green metallurgical capacity. It will be a highly promising iron ore supplier in the future. In addition, Sierra Leone, as another important supply hub in the region, also has an expected production of 12 million mt in 2025, holding a stable share of approximately 12% in the African export market. Chinese-invested iron ore mines within the country are actively expanding their operations. Macro trade flow perspective, based on full-year 2024 trade data, the proportion of African iron ore shipped to the Chinese market was relatively low compared to traditional mainstream mining regions, accounting for only about 60%, while the broader Asian market encompassing China, Japan, and South Korea collectively absorbed approximately 70% of African iron ore shipments. Meanwhile, Western European countries represented by the Netherlands and Germany constituted the core secondary shipping destination for African iron ore, with a trade flow share of nearly 14%. The remaining marginal trade flows exhibited a diversified pattern, radiating broadly to emerging steel capacity clusters in the Middle East, including Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. (Chart-3: African Iron Ore Market Overview) Enterprise level, Kumba Iron Ore and Assmang , both based in South Africa, became Africa's largest and second-largest iron ore producers with annual production of 37 million mt and 17 million mt, respectively. Kumba's mines such as Sishen are globally renowned for producing high-grade fines (>62%) and premium lump with excellent physical and metallurgical properties (Premium Lump, Fe 65.2%). Under the current trend of blast furnace emission reduction, this type of lump ore that can be directly charged into furnaces and reduce sintering carbon emissions has been highly sought after by the market, commanding a significant premium. Assmang also possesses high-quality iron ore assets, jointly controlled by African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) and Assore at a 50:50 ratio. Its Assmang fines and Assmang lump (grade at 64-65%) are also high-quality direct furnace charge materials. However, for this enterprise, the biggest bottleneck lies not at the pit head but on the rails. Heavy reliance on Transnet's rail shipping capacity means that logistics bottlenecks frequently cap its shipment volumes. SNIM (Société Nationale Industrielle et Minière de Mauritanie) is Mauritania's state-owned mining company and Africa's third-largest iron ore producer after the two South African companies. Unlike mainstream Australian and Brazilian ore, SNIM's products occupy a unique niche in terms of physicochemical specifications and market segmentation. Its most widely traded product is TZFC fines, characterized by extremely low aluminum (Al2O3) and phosphorus (P) content. As an excellent blending raw material, major steel mills prefer to blend SNIM ore fines with high-aluminum Australian fines (such as certain Pilbara blend ores) to significantly dilute the impurity ratio in furnace charge and optimize blast furnace performance. (Chart-4: Top-Tier Enterprises) III. Transformation of the African Market: Major Producing Countries May Stagnate While Emerging Projects Become Key Growth Drivers So where will future growth come from? According to SMM observations, the African market is expected to undergo significant structural changes over the next five years. Multiple large-scale iron ore projects across African countries are already under construction and plan to commence production before 2030. Based on estimates, Africa's iron ore supply is expected to grow substantially from approximately 95 million mt currently to 260 million mt over the next five years, representing a cumulative increase of up to 85%. The market landscape will also shift from South Africa-dominated exports led by Western players to Guinea-dominated exports. (Chart-5: African Market Production Trend) The primary growth driver will come from Guinea in West Africa. The country's renowned Simandou iron ore mine, jointly developed by multiple enterprises, is currently the world's largest undeveloped high-grade open-pit hematite deposit. With resource reserves exceeding 5 billion mt and a designed capacity of 120 million mt, it is the project with the greatest strategic potential to reshape the existing iron ore market landscape. Since the first ore shipment in late November 2025, as of Q1 2026, Simandou's main export port, Morebaya Port, has cumulatively shipped nearly 1.6 million mt. Blocks 1 and 2, developed under the leadership of the Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS), have been successfully commissioned, with 2026 capacity expected to be achieved and shipments expected to reach full production of 60 million mt within the next 2–3 years. Blocks 3 and 4, which are expected to commence production in Q1 2026, are led by Simfer (a Rio Tinto & Baowu joint venture) and are expected to ship 5 million mt of ore in 2026, reaching full production of 60 million mt over 30 months. In other words, Guinea is expected to reach 120 million mt before 2030, vaulting to become the world's second-largest iron ore project, behind only Brazil's S11D project (with a post-expansion designed capacity of 200 million mt, expected to commence production in 2030). Other countries such as Liberia, Gabon, Sierra Leone, and Congo Republic all have iron ore projects under development, with a combined capacity of approximately 46 million mt planned to commence production by 2030. The largest among these is the Tokadeh Phase II project (Tokadeh Phase II) in Liberia, owned by ArcelorMittal (AML), which is expected to commence production in H2 2026 and reach full production of 20 million mt capacity by year-end, with iron ore concentrate expected to exceed Fe 66%. Given that AML's steelmaking capacity in Europe cannot absorb such a massive increase in the short term, the majority of Tokadeh 's products are expected to flow into the international market for trading, exerting downward pressure on iron ore concentrate prices. Currently, the largest exporting country, South Africa, is expected to largely maintain its production within the range of 63–67 million mt, with a risk of slight decline. The primary reason is that South Africa's iron ore transportation is highly dependent on the heavy-haul railway line (TFR) from Sishen to Saldanha Port. In recent years, Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), under South Africa's national transport company Transnet, has seen a significant decline in transport capacity due to numerous issues including locomotive and rolling stock shortages, frequent cable theft, and prolonged underinvestment in infrastructure, resulting in severely reduced transportation capacity for major bulk commodities such as iron ore and coal. South Africa's largest iron ore mine, Kumba, in its 2025 year-end financial report released in February 2026, indicated that its total finished product inventories reached as high as 7.5 million mt , increasing rather than decreasing compared to 6.9 million mt at the end of 2024. As railway transport capacity failed to match mine production capabilities, major South African iron ore producers were forced to accumulate large inventories at mine sites. To prevent inventory overflow, miners had to proactively lower production guidance. Although miners have been working to address transportation issues, the deep-rooted railway problems are difficult to resolve in the short term. Beyond 2030, there is also Mauritania's SNIM strategic growth blueprint. In the first phase (Horizon 1), the company plans to raise annual capacity to 45 million mt by 2031 through implementing lean production, equipment and technology upgrades, and joint development of new reserves. Of this, 20 million mt will be absorbed by SNIM's own wholly-owned capacity, while another 25 million mt will be achieved through attracting international capital to form joint ventures. Furthermore, SNIM has even set its sights on 2045 (Horizon 3), formulating a long-term goal of raising annual capacity to 80 million mt . In addition, there is the MIFOR project in the DRC. On March 26, 2026, the DRC signed a relevant memorandum of understanding with China, and the MIFOR project was listed as a flagship project with priority support. The mine is estimated to hold cumulative resources of 15 billion to 20 billion mt, with an average grade exceeding 60%. Its potential scale is considered to be approximately 2.5 times that of the Simandou project in Guinea. The first phase of the project is expected to cost $28.9 billion, involving the construction of a heavy-haul freight railway combined with Congo River shipping, ultimately connecting to the Banana deep-water port on the Atlantic coast. Initial annual production is expected to be 50 million mt, with a long-term goal of expanding to 300 million mt per year . All these projects are destined to make Africa an indispensable source of iron ore supply in the future. (Chart-6: Selected African Iron Ore Projects) IV. Global Steel Industry Chain Transformation: Will Africa, as a Hub of High-Grade Ore, Empower DRI Production? Notably, most of Africa's currently operating and planned iron ore projects have an average total iron grade (Fe) largely above 65% , with extremely low impurity content. This scarce high-grade ore is an ideal raw material for the direct reduced iron (DRI) process. As the DRI-EAF green steel route gains traction in Europe, the US, and China, future demand for iron ore with grades of 65% and above will surge exponentially. This will confer an exceptionally high "grade premium" on major iron ore projects including South Africa's Kumba, Guinea's Simandou, and other mines coming into production in the future. In the long run, the pricing benchmark for iron ore is inevitably shifting away from the traditional Platts 62% index, and African miners will gain bargaining leverage when renewing long-term agreements, thereby reshaping the global industry chain profit distribution landscape. In line with the global carbon neutrality trend, international investors, encouraged by local governments, are actively deploying high-value-added processing facilities, including DRI plants and high-grade pellet plants, aiming to fully leverage Africa's abundant high-grade iron ore resources and enormous energy potential for DRI production. Based on SMM's observations, approximately 200,000kt of DRI capacity is expected to emerge in Africa by 2030. The largest project among them is an 8.1 million mt DRI complex located in Libya, a joint venture between Turkish steel mill Tosyali and Libya's national steel company. (Chart-7: African DRI Projects) As China advances its "dual carbon" goals, the steelmaking industry is undergoing corresponding adjustments. China has set out a strategic blueprint for carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. The traditional high-carbon-emission long-process steelmaking route dominated by blast furnace-converter operations is facing extremely stringent capacity replacement policies and environmental protection regulations. Meanwhile, the global trade system is also accelerating the imposition of carbon costs — for example, the implementation of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) — compelling the global steel supply chain to accelerate its transition from the source toward a low-carbon or even zero-carbon "green steel" era. Under this irreversible transformation trend, the short-process route combining DRI with electric furnace (EAF) has become the most commercially feasible decarbonization pathway. To meet the surging global demand for green steel in the future, market forecasts indicate that by the 2030s, global DRI designed capacity will need to increase by hundreds of millions of metric tons. This dramatic expansion in production scale will profoundly reshape the global steel supply landscape. The share of traditional pig iron production will gradually decline, while low-carbon DRI supply will directly determine the competitiveness of major economies in the global green steel market. In particular, the "hydrogen metallurgy" technology, which uses green hydrogen to replace natural gas and coal for iron ore reduction, is widely recognized by the industry as the core to achieving ultimate zero-carbon steelmaking. (Chart-8: Reshaping of the Steel Industry Chain Under Green Transformation) Represented by world-class high-quality iron ore projects such as Simandou in Guinea, the gradual commissioning of these super mines is expected to inject over 100 million mt of high-grade iron ore supply into the global market annually, significantly alleviating the global shortage of DRI-grade ore. More critically, North Africa and West Africa possess solar and wind energy potential that is second to none globally, enabling large-scale green hydrogen production at extremely low costs locally. This perfect combination of "high-grade ore + affordable green hydrogen" has led multinational capital and steel giants to increasingly favor establishing DRI production lines directly on African soil, reducing iron ore locally into low-carbon Hot Briquetted Iron (HBI) that is convenient for transport, before shipping it to electric furnaces in Asia and Europe for smelting. As a result, Africa will formally transition from the old era to become an indispensable part of the green iron production chain.

【SMM Steel】Tata Power Renewable Energy (TPREL) has commissioned a 198 MW wind project in Tamil Nadu for Tata Steel. The project, featuring 55 wind turbines, will supply 31 million units of clean power annually, cutting carbon emissions by over 26,000 tons. TPREL used an in-house EPC model, completing foundation work in 126 days and full turbine installation in 167 days despite difficult terrain. This addition brings TPREL's total renewable capacity to 11.6 GW, advancing Tata Power's goal of 100% clean energy by 2045.

Recently, the Coega Green Ammonia Project in Johannesburg-Nelson Mandela Bay has reached a new milestone, with the development phase of a 1,430-megawatt (MW) solar PV cluster receiving approval. This cluster will provide 40% of the electricity required for the green hydrogen project. South Africa's PGM mining industry supports PGM-based PEM technology to address the intermittency of renewable energy. The Coega Green Ammonia Project, led by Thulani Gcabashe, Chairman of Hive Hydrogen South Africa, will utilize solar and wind energy to produce green ammonia, primarily for export to Europe and the Far East. The project will commence at the Port of Ngqura, adjacent to the Coega Special Economic Zone, and is expected to achieve commercial operation in Q4 2029.

On June 6, GFJ H2 ENERGY PTY LTD (hereinafter referred to as "GFJ H2"), an Australian joint venture company under Jiangsu Guofu Hydrogen Energy Technology & Equipment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Guofu Hydrogen Energy"), officially signed a memorandum of cooperation with Australia's Spring River Pty Ltd (hereinafter referred to as "Spring River"). The two parties will collaborate to promote the application of hydrogen energy in the mining sector in Australia, replacing traditional energy sources with a "green hydrogen + green electricity" model to jointly create a demonstration project for green mines. The Australian mining industry has a robust demand for energy and has long relied on diesel-powered generation, facing dual challenges of high carbon emissions and import dependency. In response to this industry situation, Guofu Hydrogen Energy and Spring River have reached a consensus to build a clean and low-carbon energy system through a full-chain layout of "hydrogen production from renewable energy - hydrogen storage - hydrogen power generation." According to the cooperation plan, Guofu Hydrogen Energy, relying on its Australian subsidiary GFJ H2, will provide the project with a fully intelligent AI unmanned off-grid operating system that integrates solar power generation, electrolyzer-based hydrogen production, energy storage systems, and fuel cell power generation. This system will fully utilize the abundant local solar and wind energy resources to produce green hydrogen and ensure a stable power supply to mining areas. Spring River will be responsible for liaising with the local government, facilitating project approval and implementation, and ensuring electricity consumption. The two parties will use the joint venture company as the implementing entity. After the initial project is established, they will gradually promote this green energy solution to more mining areas.

In April 2024, SANY forged a strategic partnership with an Australian customer. Prior to this, SANY had already established the largest integrated hydrogen production and refueling station in China, and this collaboration marked its first foray into introducing relevant technologies to the international market. On May 20 this year, SANY officially delivered custom-developed 200 Nm³/h skid-mounted hydrogen production and refueling equipment to the customer, signifying a crucial step forward in the internationalization of its green energy products. Leading Technology Drives Efficient Hydrogen Refueling The project employs industry-leading flexible electrolysis water hydrogen production technology, paired with an integrated control system to ensure stable and efficient operation of the equipment. A single system boasts dual-stage hydrogen compression and storage capabilities at 50 MPa and 90 MPa, meeting the hydrogen refueling needs of both 35 MPa commercial vehicles and 70 MPa passenger vehicles. This means that whether it's freight vehicles or daily-use passenger vehicles, they can all be quickly and safely refueled at this integrated station. Adhering to Global Standards, Ensuring Safe and Compliant Implementation To successfully enter the Australian market, the project strictly adhered to local market standards during production and has obtained comprehensive certifications from Bureau Veritas (BV) and TÜV SÜD: AS 3000 Electrical Safety Certification: Achieving Australia's highest Level 2 standard. ASME/AS1200 Dual Certification: Pressure vessels comply with both US and Australian standards, holding ASME U3 stamp certification. Fatigue life exceeds 20,000 cycles. SAE J2601 Hydrogen Refueling Protocol Testing: Conforming to international fueling standards, capable of refueling 70 MPa passenger vehicles within 3 minutes. Design-Oriented Development and Rigorous Safety Analysis SANY adopts a forward development process based on fundamental design principles. During the development process, the project team conducted comprehensive risk assessment and management for the PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) hydrogen production and purification system and the high-pressure hydrogen refueling system, covering hazard identification, hazard and operability analysis, safety integrity level assessment, and layer of protection analysis, among other aspects. These analytical methods facilitate the precise identification of risks at an early stage of the project, laying a solid foundation for creating safe, intelligent, and resilient hydrogen energy solutions. Leveraging advanced technology, stringent safety standards, and global collaboration, SANY's success in the Australian market will serve as a pivotal step in promoting sustainable development. SANY remains focused on the clean energy sector, continuously deepening its expertise and making breakthroughs in wind energy, solar energy, hydrogen energy, energy storage systems (ESS), and microgrid technologies. Xiang Wenbo, Chairman of SANY Heavy Industry, stated, "SANY is accelerating its transition towards decarbonization and green growth, committed to injecting momentum into the industry's green development.""

Recently, the People's Government of Qingshan District issued a public announcement seeking comments on the "Baotou Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park Industrial Development Plan (2024-2035)". The document states: By 2030, it aims to establish an integrated equipment manufacturing base for "wind, solar, hydrogen, and energy storage", with the output value of the wind energy industry reaching 2 billion yuan, the capacity of PV modules reaching 30GW, the output value of hydrogen energy equipment reaching 1.5 billion yuan, and the output value of the energy storage industry reaching 500 million yuan. By 2035, it aims to form a new energy equipment cluster worth 10 billion yuan and establish an autonomous region-level hydrogen energy equipment testing and certification center. The total output value of the wind energy industry will reach 5.5 billion yuan, the total capacity of PV modules will reach 50GW, the total output value of hydrogen energy equipment will reach 3.5 billion yuan, and the total output value of the energy storage industry will reach 1 billion yuan. In the hydrogen energy industry, relying on the Baotou Hydrogen Energy Demonstration City Manufacturing and Application Project and the Hydrogen Energy Industry and Renewable Energy Integration Project, and with the goal of developing hydrogen energy industry projects, it will fully leverage the park's resources to focus on the development of hydrogen refueling equipment, hydrogen storage equipment, and hydrogen fuel cells. At the same time, relying on the development of hydrogen energy applications, it will develop downstream industries of new energy such as new energy batteries and NEVs, build a hydrogen energy industry chain, and establish a hydrogen energy equipment industry cluster. By focusing on green hydrogen manufacturing and pilot demonstrations, it will introduce a group of leading and key enterprises in the hydrogen energy equipment and fuel cell industries with strong driving effects. It will actively engage with leading enterprises such as SPIC Hydrogen Energy, SinoHytec, Himalaya, Meijin Energy, Dongfang Electric, Weichai Power, and Shanghai Re-Fire, striving to attract R&D and manufacturing enterprises for hydrogen fuel cells, drones, hydrogen-powered forklifts, and other products. It will cultivate and introduce producers of key materials and core parts for fuel cells, such as hydrogen recirculation pumps, membrane electrodes, bipolar plates, efficient catalysts, proton exchange membranes, and control systems, to improve the layout of the industry chain. It will focus on the industrialisation of hydrogen fuel cells and core parts to build an industry cluster. It will strengthen its engagement with Shanghai Shenergy Group, Sinoma Science & Technology, and CIMC ENRIC to expand the equipment industry chain for hydrogen "production, storage, transportation, and refueling". Taking the opportunity of vigorously developing renewable energy for "green hydrogen" production, it will cultivate enterprises in electrolysis-based hydrogen production equipment, liquid hydrogen storage and transportation equipment, hydrogen transmission pipelines, and hydrogen refueling equipment. It will develop equipment such as hydrogen refueling machines, control valve groups, hydrogen compressors, and sequence control cabinets centered around hydrogen refueling equipment to improve the layout of the hydrogen energy industry chain.

On June 3, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of Zhejiang Province issued a notice from the Zhejiang Provincial Energy Administration regarding the issuance of the "Guiding Opinions on the Supervision of Tender and Bid for Engineering Construction Projects in the Energy Sector of Zhejiang Province (Trial)". The document states that these opinions apply to tendering and bidding activities for energy projects within the administrative region of Zhejiang Province. The term "energy projects" as used in these opinions refers to energy infrastructure projects approved or filed by the development and reform (energy) departments, including coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear energy, hydropower, wind energy, solar energy, biomass energy, geothermal energy, ocean energy, as well as electricity, heat, and hydrogen energy. It does not include power distribution, power relocation, and other projects constructed as auxiliary facilities for the main part of the project in other industries. These opinions will come into effect on July 1, 2025, and will be implemented on a trial basis for three years.

Guided by the global goal of "carbon neutrality," the PV industry has emerged as a core driving force in energy transition. In 2024, the industry continued to unleash its innovative vitality, with the emergence of integrated development models such as multi-energy complementarity and generation-grid-load-storage integration. Breakthroughs were achieved in technological routes like "PV+ESS+hydrogen+methanol+ammonia" and "PV+ESS+charging," while application scenarios such as "PV+agriculture" and "PV+architecture" continued to expand, injecting strong momentum into the global transition to clean energy. At this critical period, the 17th Hongwei World Solar PV & Energy Storage Industry Expo will grandly open from August 8-10, 2025, in Area B of the Canton Fair Complex, Guangzhou. Co-hosted by the Guangdong Solar Energy Association, the Guangdong Hong Kong Macau Economic and Trade Cooperation Promotion Association, and Guangdong Hongwei International Exhibition Group Co., Ltd., the expo will bring together elite enterprises from upstream and downstream of the PV industry chain. It aims to create an important platform for global PV industry exchanges and cooperation, helping enterprises tackle challenges, seize opportunities, and promote high-quality development of the industry. A "super stage" for the global PV and energy storage industry, leading innovative development Since its optimization and upgrade in 2020, the Solar PV & Energy Storage World Expo has become a significant event in the global PV and energy storage industry. From August 8-10, 2025, the 17th expo will be held in Area B of the Canton Fair Complex, Guangzhou, and is expected to attract over 2,000 exhibitors, with an exhibition area of 180,000 m², and receive over 200,000 professional visitors from more than 100 countries. The expo covers the entire PV industry chain, including raw materials, materials, equipment, ESS, batteries, components, inverters, brackets, engineering, and application products. It is co-located with new energy fields such as wind energy, ESS, thermal energy, charging piles, and bioenergy every year. With a cumulative exhibition area exceeding 600,000 m² and attracting over 6,000 enterprises, the expo has been held for 16 consecutive years. It serves as an important platform for brand market expansion, new product launches, and trade orientation, assisting Chinese enterprises in "going global" and overseas enterprises in "coming in," and receiving promotional coverage from over 500 media outlets. Registration Channels: Exhibitor Registration: Pre-registration on the official website https://www.pvguangzhou.com Inquiries to the Organizing Committee: Ms. Liu at 13044243240 Visitor Registration: Scan the QR code to claim an e-ticket↓ Note: On-site visitors need to purchase tickets for entry, priced at 99 yuan! Pre-register now to get a free ticket!

The Vietnamese government has withdrawn some of the previously promised electricity price concessions, with subsidy cuts ranging from 34% to 50%. This has sparked protests from over 40 solar and wind energy investors, who claim that it may lead them to default on a total of $13 billion in equity investments.

On May 29, at the 2025 SMM (2nd) Rare Earth Industry Forum hosted by SMM Information & Technology Co., Ltd., Gao Yazhou, Director of the Motor Technology Department at the R&D Center of Goldwind Science&Technology Co., Ltd., shared the topic of "Rare Earths & Wind Power: Empowering Carbon Neutrality" with the attendees. Development Trends in the Wind Power Industry [Wind Power Industry Trends] The Global Wind Power Industry Looks to China, Stepping Boldly into the Carbon Neutrality Era • With clear "dual carbon" goals, the wind power market is entering a period of historic opportunities. The cumulative new installations during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period will reach 250-300 million kW, an 80% increase compared to the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, with an average annual installation of 50-60 GW. • By 2030, installations will reach at least 800 million kW, and by 2060, at least 3 billion kW, indicating that wind power will maintain rapid and sustained development over the next 40 years! [Wind Power Industry Trends] In China, Wind and Solar Installations Surpass Thermal Power In Q1 2025, China's combined new installations of wind and PV power reached 74.33 million kW, with cumulative installations reaching 1.482 billion kW (including 536 million kW of wind power and 946 million kW of PV power), surpassing thermal power installations (1.451 billion kW) for the first time. In the future, as new installations of wind and PV power continue to grow rapidly, it will become the norm for wind and PV installations to exceed thermal power installations. In Q1, the combined power generation from wind and PV reached 536.4 billion kWh, accounting for 22.5% of the total electricity consumption in society, with non-fossil energy power generation accounting for 39.8%. In Q1, the combined power generation from wind and PV increased by 111 billion kWh compared to the same period last year, significantly exceeding the increase in total electricity consumption in society (58.2 billion kWh). [Wind Power Industry Trends] Wind Power is Playing a Pivotal Role in the Social Economy Annual output value is approximately 600 billion yuan, with an employment base of about 2.5 million people. Complete industry chain: covering wind resource assessment, wind farm development and construction, equipment manufacturing, technical services, testing and certification, investment and financing services, etc. Feeding back into related industries: driving progress and breakthroughs in materials technology, testing and inspection, heavy-haul transportation, and other sectors. [Wind Power Industry Trends] China has Become the World's Largest Wind Power Equipment Manufacturing Base China accounts for 50% of the global market share in the production of wind turbine parts and complete machines; key components and castings and forgings account for 70% of global market production (e.g., generators, wheel hubs, frames, blades, gearboxes, bearings, etc.). [Wind Power Industry Trends] Innovation in Materials, Technology, Standards, and Models is Becoming Normalized With the further reduction in the price of wind turbines, the industry is building a new technological system through technological advancements in new theories, materials, processes, core components, and architectures across the four areas of "wind"-"turbine"-"farm"-"grid". "Trends in the Wind Power Industry" Major Trends in Wind Turbines: Larger Rotors, Higher Capacity • Major Trend - Larger Rotors and Higher Capacity: As the scope of wind energy resource development and utilization in China continues to expand, the development of low-wind-speed resources in southeastern China has become a significant trend. The technological development of wind turbines is also gradually aligning with this demand, showing a trend towards larger rotors and higher capacity. • In 2024, the world's longest GW147-meter blade passed static testing in one go. From 2022 to 2024, the unit capacity of wind turbines has increased from 16 MW to 26 MW, with Goldwind's 16 MW turbines already achieving mass offshore operation. "Trends in the Wind Power Industry" Major Trends in Wind Turbines: Taller Towers • Major Trend - Larger Rotors and Taller Towers: As the scope of wind energy resource development and utilization in China continues to expand, the development of low-wind-speed resources in southeastern China has become a significant trend. The technological development of wind turbines is also gradually aligning with this demand, showing a trend towards larger rotors and taller towers. In terms of tower height, since Goldwind began experimenting with steel-concrete hybrid tower structures in 2013, the technology for tall flexible steel towers and hybrid towers has continuously pushed the height of tower bases, with the benchmark height of domestic towers increasing from 120 meters (steel-flexible tower) in 2015 to 185 meters (steel-concrete hybrid tower) in 2024. "Trends in the Wind Power Industry" Broad Prospects for the Retrofitting and Replacement Market • Market Size Forecast for After-Sales Services: The after-sales service market for wind power is expected to enter a golden period of rapid growth in out-of-warranty capacity over the next three years. With the accelerated pace of wind power technology upgrades, there is a significant demand for retrofitting and replacing aging turbines, indicating broad prospects. It is estimated that by 2024, the cumulative out-of-warranty capacity will reach 229 GW, with the overall market size of after-sales services being approximately 31 billion yuan. Calculating at a 25% openness rate for operation and maintenance in 2024, the effectively open market size will be approximately 20 billion yuan. • Policy Support: The National Energy Administration has released a draft for public comment on the "Administrative Measures for the Retrofitting, Upgrading, and Decommissioning of Wind Farms," officially providing clear and traceable policy support for the technological retrofitting and upgrading of aging wind turbines. It encourages the systematic upgrading and optimization of wind farms with unit capacities less than 1.5 megawatts (MW) or that have been in operation for more than 15 years. Challenges and Demands "Challenges and Demands" Continuous Decline in Wind Turbine Bid Prices and Soaring Prices of Rare Earths • Market Price Trends of Wind Turbines: Since 2021, China's onshore wind power market has gradually entered a phase of low-price competition. As of November 2024, the lowest market price for onshore wind turbines (including towers) was 1,355 yuan/kW (data source: Fengmang Energy). • Price Trends of Pr-Nd Metal Oxides: The nearly threefold price surge from 2021 to 2022 has imposed significant cost pressure on direct-drive permanent magnet wind power technology, promoting a rapid transition towards medium-speed permanent magnet wind power and high-speed doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) wind power technology routes. Although there was a pullback in 2024, due to the medium-speed industry chain and the cycle of delivery rhythm, it is difficult for the direct-drive technology route to reverse course in the short term. "Challenges and Requirements" - Suitable Scenarios for Different Wind Power Technology Routes • Low-speed motors without gearboxes: Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generators (PMSGs) and Electrically Excited Generators (EEGs), with rated speeds ranging from 7.5rpm to 15rpm. • PMSGs matched with low transmission ratio (40-80) gearboxes, with rated speeds ranging from 200rpm to 600rpm. • Motors matched with high transmission ratio (100-150) gearboxes: Doubly-Fed Induction Generators (DFIGs), Squirrel Cage Induction Generators (SCIGs), and PMSGs, with rated speeds ranging from 1700rpm to 1800rpm. • DFIG is currently the most economical technology route for onshore wind power; medium-speed PMSG is the most suitable technology route for offshore wind power at present; and direct-drive PMSG is the most reliable technology route (Siemens offshore units). "Challenges and Requirements" - Business Model Innovation and Value Potential of Direct-Drive Motors • Comparing the residual values of 5.2MW direct-drive and 5.3MW semi-direct-drive motors, and considering the direct sales and scrap market disposal models, as well as the costs of tower dismantling and transportation, the recoverable revenue for direct-drive motors is 520,000 yuan, while for semi-direct-drive motors, it is -440,000 yuan. Copper and rare earth materials account for the largest portion of the residual value, exceeding 80%. • Rare earths are non-renewable elements with significant market value and application prospects. Disposing of them as processed Pr-Nd alloy products will yield an additional gain of over 70,000 yuan per unit. • Innovative business models, such as a professional wind turbine motor recycling industry chain and contractualized motor recycling value, need to be cultivated and guided within the industry. In addition, it provides a detailed discussion on Goldwind's permanent magnet motors. 》Click to view the special report on the 2025 SMM (2nd) Rare Earth Industry Forum