I. Market Size and Growth Drivers

ALD technology, with its atomic-level thin film deposition precision, is extending its application in the new energy field from semiconductors to core tracks such as power batteries, photovoltaics, and hydrogen energy, becoming a key support for enhancing the performance of energy devices. According to industry data, the market size of ALD equipment in China was approximately 2.775 billion yuan in 2024. Among them, the proportion of the new energy sector has increased from 12% in 2023 to 18%. It is expected that the sales will reach 3.69 billion yuan in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of over 19% from 2025 to 2030. This growth is mainly driven by the following factors:

1. Demand for performance upgrade of power batteries

In the field of new energy vehicles, ALD technology addresses the pain points of battery safety and lifespan by depositing highly stable coatings (such as Al₂O₃ and LiPON). For instance, depositing a nano-protective layer on the surface of high-nickel ternary cathode materials can inhibit electrolyte corrosion and increase the cycle life by more than 30%. Constructing an atomic-level transition layer at the electrolyte-electrode interface of solid-state batteries can reduce the interface impedance and enhance the ionic conductivity. As companies like BYD and CATL accelerate the research and development of solid-state batteries (with the energy density of automotive-grade solid-state batteries reaching 350-400Wh/kg by 2025), the demand for ALD equipment in electrode interface modification, separator coating and other links will continue to be released.

2. Breakthrough in photovoltaic cell efficiency

ALD technology can precisely control the thickness of the passivation layer and anti-reflection layer of photovoltaic cells, enhancing the light absorption efficiency and long-term reliability. For instance, the Al₂O₃ passivation layer on the back of PERC cells can increase the conversion efficiency by 0.5% to 1% through ALD deposition, while the charge transport layers (such as TiO₂ and SnO₂) of perovskite cells, after adopting ALD technology, have significantly enhanced stability and their lifespan extended from 1,000 hours to over 3,000 hours. By 2025, China's cumulative grid-connected photovoltaic capacity will reach 780 million kilowatts. The penetration rate of ALD equipment in advanced photovoltaic technologies such as TOPCon and HJT has exceeded 20%, and it is expected that the annual growth rate of the market size will exceed 25% in the next three years.

3. Expansion of hydrogen energy and energy storage technologies

In the field of green hydrogen production, ALD is used to modify the catalyst layer of proton exchange membranes (PEM) in electrolyzers, which can enhance electrolysis efficiency and reduce the consumption of precious metals. In energy storage batteries (such as flow batteries and sodium-ion batteries), the nano-coating deposited by ALD can improve the conductivity and corrosion resistance of the electrodes. With the key layout of green hydrogen alcohol technology in China during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the application of ALD equipment in the hydrogen energy industry chain is expected to become a new growth point.

Ii. Policy and Industrial Chain Synergy Effects

Under the impetus of China's "dual carbon" goals, ALD technology has been included in the key directions for the autonomy of the new energy industry chain. At the policy level, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has listed atomic-level manufacturing as one of the six core future development directions and provided special subsidies and tax incentives for the research and development of ALD equipment. Local governments such as those in Liaoning and Guangzhou have promoted joint research and development of ALD equipment with new energy vehicle manufacturers and photovoltaic manufacturers through the "chain leader enterprise + ecological cooperation" model.

In terms of industrial chain collaboration, domestic ALD equipment manufacturers are accelerating their binding with downstream enterprises:

<s:1> Equipment side: Enterprises such as Microadmittance Nano and Toprun Technology have launched roll-to-roll ALD equipment for power batteries, which is suitable for continuous production of electrode sheets.

Youdaoplaceholder7 Material side: Precursor manufacturers such as Yak Technology and Nanda Optoelectronics have developed specialized chemicals such as high-purity Al(CH₃)₃ and H₂O, reducing the cost of the ALD process;

Youdaoplaceholder6 Application end: Leading enterprises such as CATL and Longi Green Energy have promoted the rapid verification and mass production of ALD technology in production lines through the "equipment customization + joint research and development" model.

Iii. Competitive Landscape and Progress of Localization

At present, the global ALD equipment market is still dominated by Applied Materials (AMAT) and Tokyo Electron (TEL), but the new energy sector has become a key scenario for domestic equipment to break through:

The progress of domestic substitution of international manufacturers in the field

The mass production type ALD equipment for power batteries has a capacity of 100 wafers per hour (wafer level). The micro-conductive nano roll-to-roll ALD equipment has entered the production lines of CATL and BYD, with a capacity of 50 meters per minute

The photovoltaic multi-chamber ALD system has strong compatibility (supporting Si/ glass substrates). The HJT battery passivation layer ALD equipment of Toprun Technology has been verified by Longi Green Energy, with a yield rate exceeding 98%

The high-precision catalyst layer deposition technology for hydrogen energy electrolyzers is mature. The ALD equipment developed by Shenyang Scientific Instruments of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been applied to the research and development of electrode plate coatings for electrolyzers

By 2024, the market share of domestic ALD equipment in the new energy sector had reached 15%, and it is expected to exceed 30% by 2027, mainly benefiting from customized service capabilities and cost advantages (with prices 30% to 50% lower than imported equipment).

Iv. Challenges and Future Trends

1. Technical bottleneck: In the field of new energy, ALD equipment needs to balance "large-area deposition" and "atomic-level precision". For instance, the uniformity of the coating on photovoltaic glass substrates (1.8m×1.5m) must be controlled within ±2%, while the roll-to-roll deposition rate of power battery electrode sheets needs to exceed 100 meters per minute. This poses higher requirements for the mechanical design of the equipment and the precursor delivery system.

2. Cost pressure: The price of a single ALD device can reach tens of millions of yuan, and the cost of precursors (such as metal-organic compounds) accounts for over 30%. It is necessary to reduce the unit cost through the substitution of domestic materials and the increase of equipment production capacity.

3. Trend of technology integration: In the future, ALD will be combined with technologies such as atomic layer etching (ALE) and Spatial ALD, for instance, to achieve "depositation-etching" integrated processing on the surface of 3D structured electrodes (such as silicon-based anodes), further expanding its application scenarios in new energy devices.

V. Conclusion

The market prospect of ALD atomic layer deposition equipment in the new energy field is broad. From 2025 to 2030, it will enter an accelerated period of "technology verification - mass production penetration - scale expansion". In the short term, power batteries and photovoltaic power are the core growth poles. It is estimated that the combined market size will exceed 5 billion yuan by 2027. In the long term, technological breakthroughs in emerging fields such as hydrogen energy and energy storage will open up a second growth curve. For enterprises, it is necessary to focus on the collaborative innovation of "materials - equipment - processes", break through the international technological monopoly, and seize the strategic opportunity of the autonomy of the new energy industry chain.