Identification of electrical steel market needs through market intelligence analysis

In the past decade, market intelligence analysis has been intensively used to understand market dynamics and to anticipate future evolutions. Soft magnetic materials, such as non-oriented electrical steels, are widely used in numerous and diverse applications: from motors in kids toys to hydro-power-plant generators. Due to this huge spectrum of applications, it is essential to apply a market intelligence framework – including the segmentation analysis – to identify the market needs for each segment. In principle, the market of non-oriented electrical steel can be divided into four segments: energy, transportation, industry, and residential. The following paragraphs provide a glimpse of some applications, focusing on the Energy transition and e-Mobility markets.

ELECTRICAL STEEL IN THE ENERGY TRANSITION MARKET

Wind energy is considered to be the most promising renewable energy, and it is expected to penetrate the world’s electricity production significantly. Wind energy is obtained by converting kinetic wind energy to electric energy using an electric generator. The wind energy conversion system is categorised according to whether it is based on the drivetrain architecture or on electric generator technology. These factors will largely determine the selection of electrical steel grades in order to achieve optimal system performance. From the drivetrain architecture point of view, the geared drivetrain is the common technology. However, there is a strong interest nowadays in the direct drivetrain architecture, especially in offshore wind farms. Thanks to the absence of the gearbox, the system is more reliable. In practice, there are several electric generator topologies depending on the drivetrain architecture and speed variability. Currently, the geared drive doubly fed induction generator, operating at a moderate speed range, is the most dominant generator topology. On the other hand, the direct drive low speed permanent magnet synchronous generator is the most promising topology for the future, especially in offshore windmills. This is because of its high performance – including the high efficiency and power density – which results in substantial energy-savings each year.

ELECTRICAL STEEL IN THE E-MOBILITY MARKET

Transportation is regarded as one of the main sectors responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. In order to achieve the ambitious climate goals (i.e., net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 in the European Union), the electrification of different means of transportation has become a pivotal goal for all of the major transportation OEMs. The e-Mobility market is very wide, as it includes the electrification of land, water, and air transportation. In the land transportation sub-segment, and in addition to the booming electric vehicle market, there is a substantial effort to electrify buses, trucks, and railway vehicles. Electric vehicles are the most demanding market in terms of high efficiency and compact powertrain architecture requirements, where the rareearth permanent magnet traction motor is the dominant topology. However, for sustainability reasons, combined with the significantly fluctuating prices of rare-earth permanent magnets during the last few years, electric traction motor manufacturers are looking for alternatives. On the other hand, thanks to the space available in buses and trucks, the compactness of traction motors is not really necessary. High power traction motors are often used in electrified railway vehicles, due to the massive weight that needs to be driven. For marine applications, such as modern electrified ships, high-power and lowspeed propulsion motors (often placed in external confined pods) are utilised where compactness is a prime concern. Electrified aircraft are still in the early stages of development, due to safety and reliability concerns, and considerable research is being conducted to overcome these challenges. In this niche market, extremely compact and light-weight propulsion motors are essential. In a nutshell, based on this market intelligence analysis and using the segmentation approach, we are able to identify the electrical steel requirements in each application – which depends not only on the electric machine topology that is used, but also on the entire powertrain architecture. This knowledge helps us develop the most suitable electrical steel grades in order to support our customers in achieving their goals.

Market intelligence analysis is key to understanding the market dynamics and anticipating future evolutions.

Ahmed Abdallh