From Spring Festival Gala to Factory Floor: The Magnets Powering China's Humanoid Robot Boom

On January 28, 2025, over 700 million viewers watched CCTV's Spring Festival Gala - the most-watched annual broadcast on Earth. This time, the performers that stole the show weren't human. A troupe of Unitree H1 humanoid robots danced in synchronized choreography alongside human performers, executing backflips, coordinated arm movements, and fluid walking sequences that would have been unthinkable just two years prior. By the 2026 Year of the Horse Gala, the robotics showcase had expanded dramatically - with multiple Chinese robotics companies demonstrating even more advanced humanoid capabilities on the world's biggest stage. The message was clear: China's humanoid robotics industry had arrived.

Every fluid motion you see - a robot turning its wrist, bending a knee, or maintaining balance on one leg - is driven by a joint actuator. At the core of each actuator is a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). The Unitree H1, for example, uses custom PMSM joint motors capable of producing up to 360 N·m of peak torque at the knee, with a torque density of 189 N·m/kg. The H1-2 upgrade added 27 degrees of freedom including 7-DOF arms with 120 N·m shoulder and elbow torque. These aren't off-the-shelf motors - they use high-performance neodymium magnets specifically engineered for robotics.

• •Knee joint: 360 N·m peak torque - requires high-grade NdFeB magnets with exceptional flux density
• •Hip joint: 220 N·m - needs magnets that maintain performance under continuous load
• •Arm joints: 120 N·m - demands compact, high-energy magnets for the smaller form factor
• •Each H1 contains 10+ joint motors, each with precision magnet assemblies

Conventional motor magnets use arc-shaped segments glued into a ring. This works for appliances and basic motors, but humanoid robots demand something better. The problem with segmented rings is mechanical imbalance, air gaps between segments, and a non-sinusoidal magnetic field that causes cogging torque - the jerky, stepped motion you feel in cheap motors. Radial multi-pole ring magnets solve this by sintering the entire ring as a single piece with curved internal grain orientation. The result is a perfectly smooth sinusoidal surface field, zero assembly gaps, and inherent mechanical balance. This is why every serious humanoid robot actuator - from Unitree's M107 motor to competing designs from Fourier, UBtech, and AgiBot - uses some form of radially oriented magnet ring.

• •10–20% higher surface flux vs segmented tile assemblies
• •Less than 1% flux variance across the ring surface
• •Sinusoidal waveform output = smoother torque, less vibration, quieter operation
• •Single-piece construction eliminates adhesive failure modes

The Spring Festival Gala performances aren't just PR stunts - they signal industrial intent. Unitree began its IPO process in July 2025. The G1 humanoid robot launched at $16,000 for mass production. Goldman Sachs projects the humanoid robot market will reach $38 billion by 2035. Each humanoid robot contains 10–40 joint motors depending on degrees of freedom, and each motor needs precision magnet assemblies. When production scales from hundreds to thousands of units, the magnet supply chain becomes the bottleneck. This is where having a magnet supplier that specializes in radial multi-pole rings and high-precision motor magnets becomes critical.

• •Unitree G1: ~20 joint motors per unit × mass production volumes
• •Unitree H1-2: 27 DOF = 13+ high-torque motors per unit
• •Industry-wide: Fourier GR-1, UBtech Walker S, AgiBot - all need similar magnet specs
• •Projected demand: millions of precision magnet rings per year by 2028

Joint motors in humanoid robots typically use N48SH and N45SH grade neodymium magnets. The 'SH' suffix is critical — it indicates super-high coercivity (HcJ ≥20 kOe) for thermal stability up to 150°C continuous. Robot motors run hard and generate heat, especially under the sustained loads of walking and carrying objects. A magnet that demagnetizes at 80°C is useless in a joint motor that reaches 100–130°C during operation. The sweet spot for most humanoid joint motors is N48SH — offering the right balance of flux density, thermal stability, and cost. See our deeper N45SH vs N48SH grade comparison for the trade-off.

• •N48SH: 45–48 MGOe energy product, stable to 150°C — the workhorse grade for humanoid robotics joint motors
• •N45SH: slightly lower BHmax, lower heavy rare earth content — the cost-down default
• •N45UH: step up to 180°C rating for high-duty knee and hip joints
• •GBD-processed magnets achieve SH/UH performance with 50–70% less heavy rare earth content, reducing both cost and supply-chain exposure

The performance side of the humanoid robotics story made the 2026 Gala highlight reel. The supply chain side has moved just as fast in the months since. NdPr feedstock prices climbed from approximately USD 53/kg in January 2026 to roughly USD 126/kg by early April — a 2.4x move driven by structural supply deficit, EV demand growth, and uncertainty around China's MOFCOM export licensing regime. The April 2025 MOFCOM rules controlling SH and UH grade exports remain fully enforced, with the October 2025 expansion suspended only through November 10, 2026. For Chinese humanoid manufacturers, the cost pressure is real but manageable — domestic supply is plentiful. For Western buyers building on top of Chinese magnet supply (Figure, Tesla Optimus suppliers, Agility, 1X), the licensing layer adds 6–10 weeks to lead time and demands suppliers with in-house MOFCOM capability. See our deeper analysis in China rare earth export controls in 2026.

The 2025 and 2026 Spring Festival Gala performances crystallized something that's been building for years: China is leading the global push toward affordable, mass-produced humanoid robots. The magnet supply chain is a foundational layer of this revolution. Companies designing humanoid robots need magnet suppliers that understand the specific requirements - tight tolerances (±0.02mm ID), flux consistency (<1% variance), sinusoidal field profiles, and the ability to scale from prototype to volume production. The companies that secure reliable magnet supply chains now will have a significant advantage as the market scales.

Mainrich International manufactures the full range of motor magnets used in humanoid robot joints: radial multi-pole rings, coreless (hollow cup) motor magnets, laminated assemblies for high-speed applications, and segmented ring assemblies. Our radial multi-pole rings use curved grain orientation to produce a sinusoidal surface field — the same architecture used in the leading humanoid robot platforms. We support customers from prototype through mass production with in-house GBD processing, precision grinding to ±0.02mm, and comprehensive magnetic testing. For a deeper specification walk-through, see our complete guide to magnets for humanoid robot actuators or visit our robotics applications page.

• •Radial multi-pole rings: 4, 6, 8+ pole configurations with sinusoidal output — see radial multi-pole vs arc segment comparison
• •Coreless motor magnets: ID tolerance ≤ 0.02mm, concentricity ≤ 0.02mm
• •Laminated assemblies: for high-RPM joint motors (eddy current suppression)
• •GBD processing: high-temperature grades at reduced rare earth cost
• •Full quality documentation: Br, Hcj, flux mapping, dimensional reports
• •In-house MOFCOM export licensing for SH/UH grades — no trading company intermediary