Steel Mills

Big River Sees Expansion, Electrical Steel in its Future
Written by Tim Triplett
March 25, 2018
Big River Steel sees opportunity in the convergence of two major trends in automotive: development of autonomous/electric vehicles and advanced steels. “Niche steel is a big part of what we want to do. The opportunity in electrical steel is immense,” said Big River Chief Commercial Officer Mark Bula at the S&P Global Platts Steel Markets North America conference in Chicago on Tuesday.
Big River began commercial production on its sophisticated “Flex Mill” in Osceola, Ark., in early 2017 and produced 1.3 million tons of its 1.6-million-ton capacity in its first year. The original plan for the mill outlined a multi-year phased expansion that would double capacity, but the favorable market conditions may move up the timeline. “I believe that this year will be the year we decide whether we are going to expand or not. I’d be surprised if we don’t,” Bula said.
Big River plans to enter the market for electrical steels used in production of electric motors and other devices. Most motors, like those used in the new generation of electric cars and trucks, are now produced overseas. The steelmaker hopes to attract more motor manufacturing back to the United States. “We are betting on the growth of electric vehicles and plan to focus on non-grain-oriented electrical steels,” Bula said. AK Steel is the only other major producer of electrical steels in the United States.
Much research is under way on driverless autonomous vehicles. Big River sees autonomous and electric technology converging, promising demand for electrical steels well into the future. “Over time, we believe autonomous electric vehicles will become commonplace,” Bula said.
The question is, will it be the traditional automakers or Silicon Valley companies like Google and Amazon that take the lead in developing the vehicle of the future? “Those vehicles will change the way we think about automotive design and about supplying steel,” Bula said.

Tim Triplett
Read more from Tim TriplettLatest in Steel Mills

CRU: Usiminas may reduce capex unless government strengthens protection
“The lack of effective measures to create fair competition, amid a surge in subsidized imports, is the main threat to the sustainability of Brazil’s steel industry and its value chain,” CEO Marcelo Chara said.

USS swings to loss in first quarter on N. American flat-rolled segment woes
U.S. Steel CEO praised the company’s resilience, “despite the seasonally low results driven by annual mining logistics constraints in our North American Flat-Rolled segment and lagging spot prices.”

Nucor gives updates on new capacity coming online
Nucor said several of its capital projects will start operations within the next year and provided an update on them.

Algoma swings to loss on ‘market challenges’ and ‘tariff uncertainties’
Canada’s Algoma Steel swung to a loss in the first quarter amid "market challenges," and the company now expects first steel production from its first EAF in the second quarter.

Ternium raises budget for Mexico project
The steelmaker now expects the new steel slab mill in Pesquería will begin operations by Q4’26.