Elkem has developed an iron–silicon powder as part of the SOMA project to produce electrical steel components for electric motors.

Electrical steel, or silicon steel, only accounts for around 1% of the total steel industry by volume, but its use in EV drivetrain motors is ramping up demand for this niche steel product. The US$6.1M EU-funded SOMA project, which started in 2021 with industry partners including Elkem, Siemens, and Stellantis, is investigating lightweight solutions for e-mobility by additive manufacturing (AM) of soft magnetic alloys.

Over 70% of ferrosilicon is used directly in steel products, and with the maturation of China’s steel economy, this is facing a structural shift. Electrical steel, together with stainless steel, will be the focus for ferrosilicon steel applications that support the strongest growth in demand over the next few decades. Additional growth is also expected from its use in the production of lightweighting material magnesium metal.

Despite only modest growth and overcapacity for the bulk ferrosilicon, there are, however, several challenges ahead. Electrical steel capacity, a niche market, will need to ramp up quickly to keep pace with electric vehicle projections. Ferrosilicon plants have a history of converting to silicon metal, which gains better growth outlook potential from its use in polysilicon for the solar PV industry and semiconductors and increasingly as an entrant alternative to graphite for Li-ion battery anode materials.

Both ferrosilicon and silicon metal are energy-intensive to produce, and it will be challenging for Western producers to compete with the dominant production base in China. Ferroalloy production plant projects have been announced in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, while US legislation promoting domestic ferrosilicon production in favour of reliance on imports was proposed by Senators Sherrod Brown and Tommy Tuberville in 2023 and has been supported by US ferrosilicon producers. However, China maintains a significant market share, with a single company in China responsible for the production of more than 1MT of ferrosilicon in 2023.