According to an informed source close to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, a reporter from the China State Grid disclosed that the four national ministries and commissions of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Land and Resources have jointly started the management and control of rare earth resources and will work out relevant mining companies and units. Mining indicators, and strictly regulate and manage mining behavior.

This will undoubtedly worsen the air-conditioning companies that use rare earth as a raw material for inverter air conditioner compressors. The relevant person in charge of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association told reporters that "the state will use rare earth as a strategic resource to control measures, resulting in the scarcity of rare earths in the market, and the current rising prices of rare earth, so that air-conditioning companies feel a lot of pressure" .

In order to cope with cost pressures, Leading Beauty chose the technology to return to ferrite compressors on rare earth technology alternatives. Responsible person of Midea Refrigeration Appliances Group stated to China National Grid that "At present, most of inverter compressors in the United States still use rare earth, but with the rising cost of rare earth, the pressure of rising costs and the maturation of alternative materials such as ferrites have become mature. It is expected that the proportion of rare earth used in compressors will gradually decline."

What is a ferrite compressor? In fact, the ferrite compressor is the technology before the air-conditioning companies use rare-earth compressors. "In contrast, rare-earth compressors are energy-saving materials. Under the same conditions of use, rare-earth compressors have higher energy efficiency, ferrite compression The volume of the machine is larger." The responsible person of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association said.

For the return of this technology, the above-mentioned person in the United States believes that “there are advantages and disadvantages of rare earths and ferrites. How to make good use of them in different situations is the key.” The source told China National Grid, in the field of variable frequency motors, the United States’s Meizhi’s The company has mastered the design and evaluation technology of rare earth motors and ferrite motors. It can optimize and serialize designs based on the different characteristics of rare earth materials and ferrite materials to meet the needs of different customers.

"The use of rare earths in inverter compressors has a large price increase, which will lead to rising costs. But precisely because the entire industry chain of the United States is very strong and has independent research and development capabilities, we are well-prepared to deal with this change." According to people.

According to China National Grid, rare earth price increases have affected air-conditioning companies, and will undoubtedly have a deeper impact on companies that have not converted and replaced technological reserves. An industry analyst stated to China National Grid that “The affected brands may be second- and third-tier brands. They may lack core technologies or rely excessively on the upstream to provide compressors and spare parts, resulting in less production capacity or no frequency conversion.”

In addition to the United States has the strength of technological transformation, another leading company Gree has also made breakthroughs in the replacement technology of rare earth, Gree chairman Zhu Jianghai has said that Gree has successfully developed alternative technologies for rare earth.

The cost pressure caused by rare earth price increases has become the consensus of air-conditioning companies at home and abroad. It is reported that the price of rare earth has soared. This has caused the Japanese air-conditioning industry to feel the pressure and has to raise prices to cope with it. Mitsubishi Electric recently announced that it will increase the price of its new home air conditioner products sold in November this year by 5 to 15% (equivalent to approximately 10,000 yen). Mitsubishi Electric said that the company could not make up for the difference in air-conditioning costs by cutting costs.

At the same time, Japanese companies are speeding up the R&D of rare earth alternative technologies to reduce production costs and risks. In response to China's restrictions on rare earth prices caused by rare earth exports, soaring, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has issued a total of 8.7 billion yen (about 700 million yuan) subsidies to companies that reduce the use of rare earths and research and development of rare earth substitutes.

According to the above-mentioned person in charge of the China Household Electrical Appliances Association, “For domestic companies, the R&D of rare earth alternative technologies is used to reduce the cost of manufacturing, so that the ability of companies to resist such changes in the market is particularly important”.