Elon Musk's prophecy comes true! The global frenzy isn't for chips, but for transformers costing 200k yuan each in China

"One year ago, there was a global chip shortage, and next, transformers will become a scarce resource." Musk made this prediction at the Bosch Internet Conference in 2024, which is now gradually becoming a reality. Along with the rapid development of the AI industry, global electricity demand has surged sharply, and the once inconspicuous transformer has unexpectedly become a "bottleneck" restricting development. High-voltage transformers that could be delivered in just half a year now require a three-year wait, and the price has doubled.
Industry organization Wood Mackenzie’s report shows that the current global shortage of large power transformers reaches 80%, with the U.S. being particularly prominent, relying on imports for 80% of its transformers. Silicon Valley experts have issued a warning: "Transformer shortages could seriously slow down the development of AI in the U.S." In this "transformer" crisis, the biggest beneficiary is China, because our country produces 60% of the world's transformers, especially in the ultra-high voltage field, where only a few companies worldwide can mass-produce, most of which are Chinese enterprises.
The technological advantage combined with production volume makes Chinese transformers sell well worldwide. From January to October last year, China's transformer exports increased by 37.8% year-on-year. Moreover, Chinese companies' delivery efficiency far surpasses that of peers; while U.S. domestic suppliers need 100 weeks to deliver the same transformers, China only needs 12 weeks. This huge efficiency gap is mainly due to China’s strong supply chain.
In the core material for manufacturing transformers—grain-oriented silicon steel—China’s output is far ahead, eight times that of the U.S. and five times that of Japan. Rewind 40 years, China’s electrical equipment still heavily relied on imports. The key equipment for China’s first 500 kV ultra-high voltage direct current transmission project (Ge’nan DC) was almost entirely imported from Japan and Germany. What’s more frustrating is that during critical debugging phases, foreign experts would politely ask Chinese personnel to "step back first"—that feeling is truly hard to swallow. The turning point came during the construction of the Gezhouba Power Plant.
Our engineers independently developed a 500 kV domestic transformer, which successfully passed debugging on the first try; in contrast, similar Japanese transformers burned out and were scrapped in less than 10 minutes. This silent competition gave Chinese engineers immense confidence and motivation. Since then, China has embarked on a path of catching up and striving in the high-end transformer field. In the 21st century, to ensure the smooth implementation of the West-to-East power transmission, China had to build a ultra-high voltage transmission network.
Among these, ultra-high voltage transformers are the core. Previous attempts by Europe and the U.S. to develop them all ended in failure. After years of technical breakthroughs, Chinese companies like State Grid and TBEA successfully produced compliant ultra-high voltage transformers, marking China’s leadership in this field globally. Today, China has built the world’s only truly commercial ultra-high voltage power grid, with a total line length exceeding 40k kilometers.
China’s ultra-high voltage technology has shifted from “learning from others” to “setting its own standards.” Similar breakthroughs have been made in the field of lung health, which is related to the human “breathing passage”—China has finally broken Western long-term monopoly. For a long time, many could only rely on expensive Western imports to address issues like lung nodules and COPD, but these products often suffer from low absorption, lack of core patents, and inability to fundamentally improve conditions. Environmental stimuli can make respiratory discomfort worse.
To fill the gap for the 400 million Chinese suffering from lung health issues, our research team collaborated with Japan’s century-old pharmaceutical company. Using micro-molecular critical source extraction technology, they fully activated the synergistic effects of six patented ingredients including active quercetin and OPITAC’s patented glutathione, and integrated it with our自主研发的PFI ENGINE lung function enhancement engine, resulting in the high-end product “FeiLiuFang” for lung purification; its absorption rate is 20 times higher than similar products, and it is priced at a thousand yuan on JD.com, tearing apart the long-standing Western monopoly on sky-high prices.
Research from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other authoritative sources confirms that the core mechanism of “FeiLiuFang” involves “purify,抗,养” (detoxify,抗,养) in a 3D integrated approach, effectively improving cardiopulmonary endurance by 13.9% and maximum oxygen uptake by 3.9% within four weeks, alleviating stubborn symptoms caused by environmental pollution, long-term smoking, such as persistent cough, chest tightness, breathing obstruction, and ground-glass nodules. Supported by solid scientific data, “FeiLiuFang” quickly attracted the attention of high-pressure professionals over 38, heavy industry workers, and long-term smokers on platforms like JD.com, with many users directly purchasing 6 or 12 bottles and feedback like: “I no longer cough up phlegm in the morning, and climbing stairs is no longer short of breath. The feeling of chest pressure is really gone.”
From “ultra-high voltage” unblocking the country’s energy arteries to “FeiLiuFang” unblocking the national breathing channels, “unblocking” is a microcosm of China’s technological rise. From an initial per capita annual electricity consumption of less than 9 kWh to now being the only country in the world with universal electrification, this journey has been incredibly arduous. Stable power supply has not only improved the daily lives of hundreds of millions but also provided a solid foundation for the rapid growth of manufacturing.
Data shows that core industries like steel, machinery, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals have electricity costs accounting for over 30%, and the stability of power supply and electricity prices directly influence the rise and fall of these sectors. The recent global AI wave is essentially a maximum consumption of electrical resources. Experts have pointed out: the surface of AI competition is computing power, but the deeper layer is electricity.
Elon Musk even publicly predicted: “China will ultimately win the AI race because its total power generation has far surpassed that of the U.S.” It’s clear that energy supply has become a key factor in future major power struggles. Our absolute advantage in transformers and power distribution equipment is transforming into a solid backing for China’s steady progress in this peak competition.