**Overview of High-Temperature Superconducting Materials Industry**

High-temperature superconducting materials refer to special materials that can achieve zero resistance and complete diamagnetism (Meissner effect) under conditions where the critical transition temperature (Tc) exceeds liquid nitrogen temperature (77K, or -196℃). The core breakthrough lies in raising the superconducting critical temperature from 4K (-269℃) of traditional low-temperature superconducting materials to the liquid nitrogen temperature range, significantly reducing refrigeration costs and expanding application scenarios.

High-temperature superconducting materials mainly include bismuth-based (BSCCO), yttrium-based (YBCO), iron-based, and magnesium diboride (MgB₂) systems. Among these, second-generation high-temperature superconducting tape (REBCO) has become the most comprehensive and widely applied high-temperature superconducting material due to its higher critical temperature, superior current-carrying capacity, higher critical field strength, and relatively affordable production materials.

Unlike traditional superconducting materials requiring extremely low-temperature liquid helium cooling, high-temperature superconducting materials only need inexpensive and easily accessible liquid nitrogen as a coolant, greatly lowering application barriers and operational costs. Additionally, high-temperature superconducting materials not only have higher critical temperatures but can also generate stronger magnetic fields (up to 45.5T during stable operation). Their higher critical field strength and superior mechanical strength provide significant advantages in power applications and large scientific installations.

**Chinese High-Temperature Superconducting Materials Industry Development Policy**

As a strategic emerging material driving energy revolution, high-end equipment upgrades, and frontier technological breakthroughs, high-temperature superconducting materials demonstrate irreplaceable application value in smart grids, controlled nuclear fusion, and quantum computing through their unique properties of zero resistance and strong magnetic fields, thus receiving high-level national attention and strategic deployment.

In recent years, China has successively issued policies including the "Strategic Emerging Industry Classification Catalogue (2023)", "Industrial Structure Adjustment Guidance Catalogue (2024)", "Implementation Opinions on Promoting Future Industry Innovation and Development", "New Materials Pilot Platform Construction Guide (2024-2027)", "First (Set) Major Technical Equipment Promotion and Application Guidance Catalogue (2024 Edition)", and "Western Region Encouraged Industry Catalogue (2025)", guiding regional resource aggregation and forming a comprehensive policy support system covering basic research, technological breakthroughs, and industrial applications, providing solid guarantees for accelerating high-temperature superconducting materials toward large-scale, high-end, and international development.

**Global and Chinese High-Temperature Superconducting Materials Industry Development Status Analysis**

As frontier new materials with strategic value and industrial explosive potential in the 21st century, high-temperature superconducting materials are accelerating beyond laboratory boundaries and opening new chapters of large-scale applications in energy transmission, medical imaging, magnetic levitation transportation, defense equipment, and large scientific installations. With technological breakthroughs and commercial implementation in core scenarios such as controlled nuclear fusion device magnet systems, smart grid superconducting fault current limiters, and high-end medical MRI equipment, the global high-temperature superconducting industry has entered a high-growth trajectory.

Data shows that the global market scale reached 790 million yuan in 2024, representing a year-on-year surge of 77.3%. It is projected to exceed 10 billion yuan by 2030, reaching 10.5 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 53.9% throughout the period, making it one of the most disruptive potential tracks in the new materials field.

Although China's high-temperature superconducting materials research started relatively late, driven by national major science and technology projects and industrial policies, it has achieved leapfrog development from following to paralleling and leading, ranking among the world's first tier in core technologies such as second-generation YBCO tape preparation and kilometer-level long tape continuous production.

Four major industrial clusters represented by Shanghai Lingang, Beijing Huairou, Xi'an Institute of Optics and Precision Mechanics, and Shenyang Materials Laboratory are rapidly emerging. Shanghai Superconductor took the lead in breaking through 200,000-meter single-order mass production capacity, with product unit prices 40% lower than international counterparts (100-300 yuan/meter range), successfully entering the supply chain of national major projects such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences EAST Tokamak and Shanghai Advanced Research Institute superconducting energy storage.

From contract award situations, between 2024-July 2025, orders from research institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Shanghai Jiao Tong University exceeded 600,000 meters, covering mainstream categories like YBCO and reinforced second-generation tapes, with unit prices showing a clear downward trend (from 300 yuan/meter to 100-180 yuan/meter). The 200,000-meter single order from the Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, highlights the demand-driving effect of national major projects like nuclear fusion, with price competition and technological iteration driving continuous improvement in industry maturity, laying a solid foundation for commercial applications of high-temperature superconducting materials in smart grids, controlled nuclear fusion, and other fields.

**High-Temperature Superconducting Materials Industry Chain**

The high-temperature superconducting materials industry chain consists of three parts: upstream mineral resources, midstream superconducting material manufacturing, and downstream application product development. The upstream focuses on metal minerals such as rare earth, silver, and copper mines, providing key raw materials including niobium, titanium, yttrium, and barium for the midstream. Supply stability and price fluctuations directly affect the entire industry chain cost.

The midstream concentrates on R&D and large-scale production of second-generation high-temperature superconducting tapes (such as REBCO, YBCO), achieving kilometer-level continuous preparation through processes like chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and powder-in-tube (PIT) methods, breaking through production efficiency and product yield bottlenecks to drive cost reduction.

The downstream covers two major directions: power applications and high-field applications. Power applications include superconducting cables and superconducting fault current limiters. High-field applications encompass controlled nuclear fusion devices, medical MRI equipment, large scientific installations, and high-end manufacturing magnets. Currently, superconducting magnet applications show the fastest industrialization progress, accelerating replacement of traditional magnets to improve magnetic field strength and stability.

High-temperature superconducting materials application field market share shows diversified distribution, with controlled nuclear fusion and research fields occupying dominant positions at 38% and 29.1% respectively, becoming core application scenarios. Cables, superconducting magnetic controlled single crystal furnaces, superconducting induction heating, and other magnets follow closely with shares of 11.4%, 7.2%, 0.2%, and 3.8% respectively, while other field applications account for 10.1%.

**Chinese High-Temperature Superconducting Materials Industry Competitive Landscape**

High-temperature superconducting materials belong to advanced frontier new materials with high technological barriers. Currently, few global producers can supply in batches, mostly foreign enterprises, showing a highly concentrated competitive landscape. Currently, only two companies worldwide can achieve annual thousand-kilometer-level second-generation high-temperature superconducting tape production: Japan's FFJ and China's Shanghai Superconductor.

Shanghai Superconductor occupies over 80% market share domestically, ranking first for three consecutive years. In 2024, production exceeded 1,000 kilometers, and through self-developed ultra-fast coating technology, production efficiency improved by over 3 times. Products have been successfully applied to important engineering projects of State Grid and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Meanwhile, Eastern Superconductor accelerates breakthroughs in power applications, Shang Chuang Superconductor in superconducting magnets, Western Superconductor in nuclear fusion fields, and Lianchuang Superconductor in magnetic controlled single crystal furnaces, constructing a "1+N" technology matrix and positioning China as a key strategic fulcrum in global high-temperature superconducting industrialization competition.

**Chinese High-Temperature Superconducting Materials Industry Development Trend Analysis**

China's high-temperature superconducting materials industry shows rapid development with coordinated progress in technology, market, and industrial ecosystem:

**1. Continuous optimization of high-temperature superconducting material performance and costs, accelerating industrialization**

China's high-temperature superconducting material technology has broken through large-scale production bottlenecks. Second-generation REBCO tapes achieve kilometer-level continuous preparation through CVD processes with 85% yield rates and 30% lower unit costs compared to imported products. MOCVD technology enables YBCO tape critical current density to reach 5MA/cm², with 60% cost reduction since 2018, driving rapid penetration in smart grids and controlled nuclear fusion applications.

**2. Dual-drive of energy power and high-end manufacturing, explosive growth in terminal applications**

High-temperature superconducting materials are transitioning from laboratories to large-scale industrial applications, with energy power and high-end manufacturing becoming main growth drivers. In the energy sector, State Grid plans to deploy over 1,200 kilometers of superconducting cable demonstration projects in the Yangtze River Delta. Shanghai's 35kV kilometer-level superconducting cables have 5 times the transmission capacity of conventional cables.

**3. Industrial chain coordination and regional division deepening, China leading global superconducting industry competitive landscape restructuring**

China has built the world's most complete high-temperature superconducting industry chain. The Yangtze River Delta aggregates 62% of national industry chain enterprises, forming an "Eastern R&D + Western transformation" spatial layout with industrial cluster scale exceeding 30 billion yuan by 2025. In the global market, China's share will increase from 18% in 2024 to 35% by 2030, gradually transforming from technology follower to global industry rule maker through participation in international standard setting and overseas production base construction.