As a special material processed from tungsten, tungsten carbide plate plays an irreplaceable role in extreme environments with its advantages of high melting point, high strength and high density. According to data, the market size of China’s tungsten carbide  industry exceeded 12 billion yuan in 2024, and it is expected to grow to 18.5 billion yuan by 2030.

Technological breakthroughs in high-purity, ultra-thin and special-shaped tungsten carbide plate, as well as the explosive demand in military, nuclear energy and semiconductor fields, are bringing a golden period for this product.

Material Advantages of Tungsten Carbide Plate

The reason why tungsten alloy plate has become a “hot commodity” in high-end fields lies in its three unique advantages, which far outperform ordinary metal materials in extreme environments.

Super Heat Resistance

The melting point of tungsten carbide plate is about 3422℃, which is one of the highest melting points among commonly used industrial metals. To put it simply, ordinary metals will soften and deform at hundreds or thousands of degrees Celsius, but tungsten alloy plate can maintain its structural integrity at temperatures above 3000℃.

This characteristic makes it the core material for high-temperature equipment such as furnace components, heat shields and rocket nozzles. After all, only tungsten carbide plate can withstand the test of extreme high temperatures in these scenarios.

Excellent Density and Strength

The density of tungsten carbide plate reaches 19.3 g/cm³, which is about 2.5 times that of iron and one of the highest density metal materials currently available. Its high density also gives it excellent strength.

Even at high temperatures, it can maintain sufficient hardness and toughness, and is not prone to deformation or fracture. This “strong and compact” feature makes it particularly suitable for military equipment, precision machinery and other fields with extremely high requirements for structural reliability — it needs to be strong enough while not taking up too much space.

Good Corrosion Resistance

Tungsten carbide plate is not “sensitive” to various corrosive substances such as acids and alkalis at room temperature, and is not easily corroded, making it suitable for use in harsh environments such as chemical industry. However, it should be noted that its corrosion resistance will decrease in extremely high temperatures or in the presence of certain special oxidants, which is something to be aware of during use.

Industry Status Quo

China is the world’s main producer of tungsten carbide plate, with its production capacity and output ranking among the top in the world thanks to a complete production chain. However, in the past, it mainly focused on mid-to-low-end products, and in recent years, the supply capacity of high-end products has been increasing rapidly.

Steady Growth in Production Capacity, Accelerated Deployment of High-End Capacity

In 2023, China’s tungsten carbide plate output was about 18,500 tons, an increase of 21.3% compared with 2020; in 2024, the industry operating rate remained above 78%, and leading enterprises such as Xiamen Tungsten Industry and Zhongtung High-Tech basically operated at full capacity. It is expected that the total output will exceed 21,000 tons in 2025, and the total production capacity will reach 38,000 tons per year by 2030.

It is worth noting that high-end production capacity is being released at an accelerated pace. For example, an enterprise in Jiangxi invested 1.2 billion yuan to build a high-purity tungsten alloy plate production line with a designed annual capacity of 3,000 tons and a purity of 99.999%. In the future, the proportion of high-end products will increase from less than 30% to more than 55%.

Enterprise Concentration Areas

China’s tungsten carbide plate production enterprises are mainly concentrated in Jiangxi, Hunan, Henan, Fujian, Jiangsu and other places. Jiangxi has become the core production area due to its complete production supporting facilities, accounting for 40% of the national number of enterprises and over 45% of the production capacity in 2024; although Fujian and Jiangsu do not have much tungsten resources, they have done an excellent job in the field of tungsten alloy plate for electronics and semiconductors by virtue of their high-end manufacturing capabilities.

At present, the top five enterprises in the industry account for nearly 60% of the national production capacity. In the future, the advantages of these leading enterprises will become more obvious. It is expected that the market share of the top five enterprises will exceed 70% by 2030, and technology and market channels will become the core of enterprise competition.

Upstream and Downstream Cooperation

On the upstream side, China can produce sufficient tungsten processing raw materials. In 2023, the output of ammonium paratungstate (APT) accounted for more than 85% of the global total, and the annual production capacity of high-purity tungsten powder with a purity of ≥99.99% has exceeded 3,000 tons, providing sufficient raw materials for the production of high-end tungsten alloy plate; at the same time, enterprises are also seeking resources overseas to ensure a stable supply of raw materials.

On the downstream side, China’s tungsten carbide plate consumption reached 10,400 tons in 2024, and it is expected to increase to more than 19,000 tons by 2030. More and more high-end products require tungsten carbide plate, which also forces production enterprises to upgrade their technologies, forming a virtuous cycle of “demand drives technology, and technology promotes demand”.

Downstream Demand

The application scenarios of tungsten carbide plate are becoming more and more extensive, especially in high-end fields such as military, nuclear energy and semiconductors, where demand is growing rapidly, becoming the core driving force for the development of the industry.

Military Field

The demand for tungsten carbide plate in the military field is very rigid. For example, hypersonic weapons, electromagnetic cannons, military aircraft and other equipment all need tungsten carbide plate to withstand extreme high temperatures, high pressures and radiation.

It is expected that the consumption of tungsten carbide plate in the military field will reach 1,500 tons by 2030. In the aerospace field, tungsten carbide plate is used to manufacture heat shields for space vehicles to protect them from being burned by high temperatures when passing through the atmosphere; it is also used as the inner lining of rocket nozzles to withstand the high temperature and erosion caused by the combustion of propellants, ensuring the smooth launch of rockets.

The demand in the military field has also promoted enterprises to develop more special-shaped and high-performance tungsten alloy plate to meet customized needs.

Nuclear Energy Field

Nuclear energy is an important part of clean energy, and the research and construction of small modular reactors (SMR) and nuclear fusion devices are inseparable from tungsten carbide plate.

Because of its high temperature resistance and radiation resistance, tungsten carbide plate is used as core components such as control rod drive mechanisms and fuel assembly positioning parts in reactors, especially as the “first wall material” for nuclear fusion devices, which needs to withstand the erosion of high-temperature plasma and strong radiation.

Only tungsten carbide plate can meet these requirements. With the development of the new energy industry, the demand for tungsten alloy plate in the nuclear energy field will increase significantly, which will also promote technological progress in high-purity and special-shaped tungsten carbide plate.

Semiconductor Field

The semiconductor industry is the core field of high-end demand for tungsten carbide plate. Links such as wafer manufacturing and third-generation semiconductor packaging all require high-purity and high-precision tungsten alloy plate.

For example, sputtering targets used in wafer manufacturing require tungsten carbide plate with a purity of ≥99.995%, without any impurities; tungsten-copper composite plates used in third-generation semiconductor packaging need to have a thermal expansion coefficient that precisely matches that of the chip, otherwise it will affect the performance of the chip.

In 2024, the consumption of tungsten carbide plate in the semiconductor field was about 2,100 tons, and it is expected to reach 3,800 tons by 2030, with an average annual growth rate of 12%. Domestic enterprises are now able to produce semiconductor-grade tungsten targets and other products, gradually replacing imports, which has become a core highlight of the industry’s growth.

Industrial Furnace Field

In industrial production, high-temperature furnaces, smelting equipment and other facilities are also inseparable from tungsten alloy plate. It is used as heating elements, crucibles and protective linings, enabling the equipment to operate stably at temperatures far exceeding the tolerance limit of ordinary materials, reducing maintenance times and extending the service life of the equipment. It is a “stable source of demand” in the field of high-end industrial manufacturing.

Technological Development Trends

The technological upgrading of China’s tungsten carbide plate industry mainly focuses on three directions, while also pursuing more intelligent and environmentally friendly production methods.

High Purity

High-purity tungsten carbide plate is a “rigid demand” in fields such as semiconductors and electronic information, requiring a purity of at least 99.99%. At present, leading domestic enterprises have been able to mass-produce such high-purity tungsten alloy plate, and even successfully replaced imported products in the field of tungsten targets for wafer manufacturing.

The industry is now tackling ultra-high-purity tungsten carbide plate with a purity of over 99.999%. By optimizing the production process and reducing impurity content, its performance is made more stable to meet the stringent requirements of high-end fields such as semiconductors and 5G communication.

It is expected that by 2030, the self-sufficiency rate of domestic high-end tungsten carbide plate will increase from the current 65% to more than 85%, and tungsten carbide plate for semiconductors will basically achieve independent supply.

Ultra-Thin Tungsten Carbide Plate

Ultra-thin tungsten carbide plate (thickness ≤0.1mm) is like a “metal sheet”, which is a key material for high-end medical equipment, precision instruments and microelectronic devices. Producing such ultra-thin tungsten alloy plate is very difficult, as it needs to be thin without deformation or cracking.

At present, domestic enterprises have been able to produce ultra-thin tungsten carbide plate with smooth surfaces and precise dimensions by developing special rolling and annealing processes, requiring a surface roughness of no more than 0.2μm (equivalent to 1/350 of the diameter of a human hair) and a grain size of no more than 1μm.

A leading enterprise plans to mass-produce 0.05mm ultra-thin tungsten foil by 2028, and in the future, it will develop towards thinner, more precise and more stable directions to meet the “miniaturization and lightweight” requirements of high-end manufacturing.

Special-Shaped Tungsten Carbide Plate

Special-shaped tungsten carbide plate refers to tungsten carbide plate with irregular shapes, such as special components for rocket nozzles and nuclear fusion devices.

Traditional processing techniques are difficult to produce these complex shapes, and the yield is low. Now, with the help of new technologies such as 3D printing (additive manufacturing) and plasma spraying, the industry has been able to achieve integrated manufacturing of special-shaped tungsten alloy plate, which can not only produce complex structures but also ensure stable material performance.

This customized production method can precisely match the special needs of aerospace, nuclear energy and other fields, expanding the application scope of tungsten carbide plate.

استنتاج

Tungsten carbide plate is a “key material” supporting high-end manufacturing and national security. It is indispensable from rocket launches to chip manufacturing, from nuclear power generation to military equipment. In the next five years, with technological breakthroughs in high-purity, ultra-thin and special-shaped tungsten carbide plate, as well as the continuous growth of demand in high-end fields, China’s tungsten carbide plate industry will completely get rid of its dependence on imported high-end products and realize the transformation from “scale expansion” to “quality leadership”.