The amorphous alloy oil-immersed transformer is a kind of transformer made of an amorphous alloy strip as an iron core and transformer oil as insulation and cooling medium. It is mainly used in distribution networks, especially suitable for scenarios with low load and large load fluctuations. the loss can be greatly reduced and the power supply stability can be improved.

 

According to the core material, transformers can be divided into two categories: silicon steel transformers and amorphous alloy transformers. Traditional silicon steel transformers use silicon steel as the iron core, which has the disadvantage of large losses. In China’s total power transmission and distribution losses, transformer losses account for about 40%. Amorphous alloy transformers use amorphous alloy strips as iron cores, and the no-load loss of transformers with the same capacity is significantly reduced by 50% compared with silicon steel transformers. Therefore, amorphous alloy transformers are gradually replacing traditional silicon steel transformers.

 

According to the division of cooling and insulating media, transformers can be divided into two categories: oil-immersed transformers and dry-type transformers. Oil-immersed transformers use oil as the cooling liquid and insulating medium. Transformer oil has the advantages of good insulation, excellent heat transfer, protection of internal components from external factors, and low price. Therefore, oil-immersed transformers have the characteristics of long service life and low cost and are the mainstream products in the market. In China, oil-immersed transformers account for about 85% of the annual output of transformers in recent years.

 

The Amorphous alloy strip is the core material of the amorphous alloy oil-immersed transformer. In the early stage, due to the immature technology, the output of amorphous alloy was low and the price was high, so the economic value of amorphous alloy oil-immersed transformer was low. However, in recent years, China’s amorphous alloy manufacturing process has become increasingly mature, the output of amorphous alloy strips has continued to increase, and the price has continued to decline. At present, amorphous alloy oil-immersed transformers have the conditions for large-scale application. In contrast to silicon steel transformers, due to the rising price of oriented silicon steel in the past two years, it no longer has a competitive advantage compared with amorphous alloy oil-immersed transformers in terms of price.

 

In general, amorphous alloy oil-immersed transformers have the advantages of low energy consumption and low cost, and their application scale continues to expand in China and around the world. In 2021, the global amorphous alloy transformer market will be about 5.6 billion yuan. From the perspective of output, the output of amorphous alloy oil-immersed transformers will account for about 86%.

 

Under the dual carbon targets, China’s power industry has accelerated its pace of development to reduce line losses and improve power supply stability. In this context, the demand for amorphous alloy oil-immersed transformers continues to rise, and the industry has broad prospects for development.