SDIC Securities: Solder paste is increasing in volume and price, and there is plenty of room for domestic replacement of light module consumables

The Zhitong Finance App learned that SDIC Securities released a research report saying that the demand for AI computing power is driving a high increase in both the speed and usage of optical modules. As the core consumables for electronic assembly in the optical module production process, optical module solder paste rapidly increased along with the demand, grade and unit price of optical modules, driving rapid market growth. Currently, the domestic market share is mainly occupied by leading overseas companies, and there is plenty of room for domestic replacement. The bank recommended focusing on domestic upstream and downstream enterprises with R&D and production capabilities for high-end solder paste, tin powder and other products.

SDIC Securities's main views are as follows:

Solder paste: the core consumables for modern electronic assembly, the market size is growing rapidly

In the field of electronics manufacturing, interconnection technology between components and circuit boards is essential. Compared with traditional THT processes, SMT has become the current mainstream assembly process with the advantages of high density, high efficiency and high degree of automation. In the overall production process, any defect in the printing process may affect up to 60% of the overall defects, and is a key process node affecting the yield of the whole machine. Among them, solder paste is a mixture of alloy powder and flux, also known as solder paste. It is the most important core consumable in the entire printing process. The relevant performance indicators directly affect the performance of downstream products. The global electronic grade solder market size is approximately US$7.963 billion in 2025, and is expected to reach US$12.16 billion by 2032, with a compound growth rate of about 6.3% in 2025-2032.

AI computing power drives the upgrading and expansion of optical modules. The volume and price of the special solder paste market have risen sharply, and the scale may grow several times

Solder paste is widely used in optical module PCB motherboard mounting, optical device packaging, optical engine welding, flexible circuit board (FPC), and structural case welding. The explosion in global demand for AI computing power has driven both the rate and usage of optical modules in data centers. Optical module packaging upgrades are driving simultaneous increases in the number of solder joints and solder paste grades. From 400G optical modules to 1.6T optical modules, the amount of solder paste used for single solder paste increased by an average of 300%. At the same time, the rate upgrade led to the upgrade of the required solder paste grade from the highest T5 grade solder paste in the 100G optical module to the highest T7 solder paste for the 1.6T optical module, and the unit price of the product increased simultaneously. The overall value of solder paste for 100G to 1.6T optical modules increased more than 70 times according to the median value. According to comprehensive estimates, the overall market size of solder paste for optical modules is expected to rise rapidly from just 500 million yuan in 2025 to 8.5 billion yuan in 2028, with a CAGR of 150%. If demand for 3.2T and higher speed optical module solder paste grades rises above T8, the unit price and market size of optical module solder paste are expected to increase further at an accelerated pace.

Risk warning: risk of AI data center investment falling short of expectations; risk of global industrial chain allocation and geopolitical risk; risk of deterioration of market competition structure; risk of bias in market space estimation.