FOCUS: Strong fundamentals support global silicon market

Production cuts recently announced by world-leading silicon supplier Ferroglobe as part of it restructuring plan have triggered supply concerns among some market participants, with consumers increasingly eyeing China to meet demand needs.

"The supply in Europe going to be very tight," an industry source told Fastmarkets. "With all the production cuts, good levels of demand and lack of new projects in the pipeline, I see a shortage of 80,000 tonnes of silicon in 2021."
At the end of March, Ferroglobe announced the closure of two of its six Ferropem plants in France.
Anglefort produces 36,000 tonnes per year of silicon for use in silicones from two furnaces and Montricher has three furnaces that produce 30,000 tpy of silicon for the chemical industry.
Ferroglobe has a total installed power of near 1,500 megawatts so is a major producer of silicon metal, accounting for 14% of global production capacity. It operates three industrial sites in Spain and seven in France (six within its Ferropem subsidiary).

"Following two years of significant market declines, resulting in financial losses, Ferroglobe has designed a...

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