Market focus: SOFCs, gold and AI short dramas draw attention as semiconductor price increases and orders emerge

Why are SOFCs attracting market attention?

Bloom Energy (BE) and California Resources signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) project with carbon capture capacity of more than 1 gigawatt; the report also considers the impact of the US midterm elections on clean energy policy expectations.
SOFCs can be deployed modularly and have relatively short delivery times. According to BE’s estimates, its 800-volt DC power-supply solution can reduce non-compute capital expenditure for a 1-gigawatt AI data center by 27% and five-year total cost of ownership by 9%; BE expects its production capacity to rise to 2 gigawatts in 2028.
The US Department of Energy estimates the levelized cost of electricity for a hundred-megawatt-scale SOFC at approximately 125 dollars per megawatt-hour, or approximately 100 dollars per megawatt-hour after a 40% investment tax credit. The tax credit is therefore an important condition in the report’s comparison of its economics.
On the supply chain, the report says Chunhui Instrument is a major supplier of temperature sensors to BE, with a share exceeding 70%; Chunhui Intelligent Control holds a 38.69% stake in the company and plans to acquire the remaining equity.

World Gold Council data show that global central banks and other official institutions added a net 321 tonnes to their gold reserves in the third quarter of 2026, up 42% year on year and the highest quarterly total since the fourth quarter of 2024.
Global physically backed gold ETFs recorded net inflows of 211 tonnes in the third quarter, reversing second-quarter outflows and taking holdings to a record 4256 tonnes; however, inflows for the quarter were still 6% below those in the third quarter of 2025.
China’s total gold demand in the third quarter was 192 tonnes, up 12% year on year and 23% quarter on quarter. The report also lists total gold production from domestic and imported raw materials in the first three quarters at 347.990 tonnes, down 11.44% year on year.

According to industry research cited in the report, AI dramas accounted for more than nine-tenths of micro-dramas nationwide in 2026. In the third quarter, 140 thousand new native AI short dramas were added to Douyin, up 19% quarter on quarter, indicating a continuing expansion in content production.
On the user side, Hongguo Free Short Drama had 430 million monthly active users in September 2026, up 61.8% year on year. Of these, 380 million also used Douyin, accounting for 88.5% of Hongguo Free Short Drama’s users, indicating substantial overlap between the two user bases.
The report considers the combination of content production capabilities and distribution channels helpful for commercialization: Mango Excellent Media’s AI tools have supported more than 3900 projects, and the company also has distribution channels including a video platform and satellite television, which can connect content to membership, advertising and IP monetization.

NXP notified distributors that prices for certain product lines would be adjusted from January 2027 because of rising raw material and upstream costs; the report says Infineon had previously raised prices for some MOSFET and IGBT products. Rising costs and product price increases occurred at the same time.
NCE Power’s wafer starts, expressed in 8-inch equivalents, exceeded 500 thousand wafers in 2025 and are planned to increase to between 700 thousand and 800 thousand wafers in 2026 and nearly 1 million wafers in 2027. An institution cited by the report forecasts net profit of 564 million, 763 million and 931 million yuan respectively for 2026 through 2028.
For indium phosphide substrates, the report says Guangzhi Technology has secured an order from a leading global customer for nearly ten thousand 6-inch products, with an estimated value of approximately 300 million yuan according to an institution. The company’s third-quarter revenue was approximately 900 million yuan, up 112% year on year; growth was influenced by both expansion of its infrared optics business and the consolidation of Xianrui Technology.