Electrical Steel Market Size 2026-2030
The electrical steel market size is valued to increase by USD 30.86 billion, at a CAGR of 11.8% from 2025 to 2030. Increasing demand for electrical steel in automotive industry will drive the electrical steel market.
Major Market Trends & Insights
- APAC dominated the market and accounted for a 75.5% growth during the forecast period.
- By Type - Grain oriented segment was valued at USD 25.11 billion in 2024
- By End-user - Automobiles segment accounted for the largest market revenue share in 2024
Market Size & Forecast
- Market Opportunities: USD 43.00 billion
- Market Future Opportunities: USD 30.86 billion
- CAGR from 2025 to 2030 : 11.8%
Market Summary
- The electrical steel market is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the dual imperatives of global electrification and energy efficiency. This sector provides the foundational soft magnetic materials essential for the performance of electric motors, transformers, and generators.
- Demand is bifurcated, with the automotive sector requiring vast quantities of high-performance non-grain oriented electrical steel (NGOES) to maximize the range and power of electric vehicles. Simultaneously, the energy sector's push for grid modernization and renewable energy integration fuels demand for high-permeability grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES) to minimize transmission losses.
- A key business challenge emerges in the supply chain, where transformer manufacturers face extended lead times, sometimes exceeding 18 months, for premium GOES. This bottleneck directly impacts their capacity to deliver on critical infrastructure upgrade contracts, illustrating the tension between surging demand and constrained production of specialized grades.
- Consequently, market participants are focused on technological advancements in thin-gauge materials and expanding production capacity for high-value products, even as the broader market contends with oversupply in lower-grade segments. This dynamic environment necessitates strategic investments in both material science and manufacturing processes to capitalize on high-growth applications.
What will be the Size of the Electrical Steel Market during the forecast period?
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How is the Electrical Steel Market Segmented?
The electrical steel industry research report provides comprehensive data (region-wise segment analysis), with forecasts and estimates in "USD million" for the period 2026-2030, as well as historical data from 2020-2024 for the following segments.
- Type
- Grain oriented
- Non-grain oriented
- End-user
- Automobiles
- Manufacturing
- Energy generation
- Application
- Transformer
- Motor
- Inductor
- Geography
- APAC
- China
- Japan
- India
- Europe
- Germany
- UK
- France
- North America
- US
- Canada
- Mexico
- Middle East and Africa
- Turkey
- Saudi Arabia
- UAE
- South America
- Brazil
- Argentina
- Rest of World (ROW)
- APAC
By Type Insights
The grain oriented segment is estimated to witness significant growth during the forecast period.
The market is critically segmented by material properties and applications, with grain oriented electrical steel (GOES) being essential for the power sector. This material is engineered with a unique crystallographic texture, creating magnetic anisotropy that delivers exceptionally high-permeability steel.
This makes it indispensable for the cores of high-efficiency power transformers and distribution transformers, which are vital for grid modernization materials and improving energy transmission efficiency.
As global investment in energy infrastructure grows, demand for advanced transformer lamination steel and core material for inductors that reduce energy loss is increasing.
China's production alone accounts for over 55% of the global output, highlighting the geographic concentration in the supply chain for these high-strength steel solutions used in power generation steel and energy-efficient transformers.
The Grain oriented segment was valued at USD 25.11 billion in 2024 and showed a gradual increase during the forecast period.
Regional Analysis
APAC is estimated to contribute 75.5% to the growth of the global market during the forecast period.Technavio’s analysts have elaborately explained the regional trends and drivers that shape the market during the forecast period.
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The geographic landscape of the electrical steel market is dominated by the APAC region, which accounts for over 75% of global consumption and is the primary hub for production.
This dominance is largely driven by China, which manufactures over 55% of the world's electrical steel, supplying its massive domestic automotive and energy sectors.
Key activities include the use of electric arc furnace (EAF) technology for sustainable steel production and pyrometallurgy to create hi-b steel. This concentration creates supply chain vulnerabilities for other regions.
In response, North America and Europe, which represent approximately 6% and 9% of the market opportunity respectively, are focusing on localizing their supply chains.
These regions are investing in facilities to produce non-grain oriented electrical steel (NGOES) for traction motor cores and generator components, aiming to improve motor efficiency and support the growth of their domestic EV motor steel and renewable energy steel sectors, thereby fostering a more resilient e-mobility steel solutions ecosystem.
Market Dynamics
Our researchers analyzed the data with 2025 as the base year, along with the key drivers, trends, and challenges. A holistic analysis of drivers will help companies refine their marketing strategies to gain a competitive advantage.
- Strategic decision-making in the industry often begins with the grain oriented vs non-grain oriented steel debate, as each type serves distinct high-value applications. The choice of electrical steel for high-speed EV motors is critical, as it directly influences vehicle range and performance, with advancements in electrical steel annealing processes enabling the production of superior materials.
- Simultaneously, the power industry is focused on reducing core loss in power transformers, a goal advanced by using domain-refined GOES for ultra-low-loss transformers. The material science behind these products is complex, centering on the impact of silicon content on magnetic properties and overcoming the challenges in producing 6.5% silicon steel.
- Production technology is also evolving, with a clear distinction between the EAF vs BOF for electrical steel production, where the low-carbon EAF route for GREENSTEEL production is gaining traction for its sustainability benefits. Further refinements, such as improving punchability of NOES for motors and using laser-scribed steel for compact traction motors, are enhancing manufacturing efficiency.
- The role of electrical steel in decarbonization is paramount. Innovations in materials for high-frequency inductor cores and understanding the electrical steel requirements for 800v EV platforms are essential. Improving stacking factor with advanced coatings can reduce energy wastage in grid applications by more than 30% compared to older materials, directly lowering operational costs for utility providers.
- The entire supply chain for high-grade electrical steel, including the magnetic properties of recycled stainless feedstock steel, is being optimized to support these technological developments in soft magnetic materials and their use in grid-scale energy storage.
What are the key market drivers leading to the rise in the adoption of Electrical Steel Industry?
- The increasing demand for electrical steel within the automotive industry, driven by the global transition to electric vehicles, is a key driver for market growth.
- The primary market driver is the accelerating global transition to electrification, which boosts demand for soft magnetic material with superior properties.
- The automotive industry's shift to 800V platforms necessitates electrical steel that enhances power density and minimizes energy loss, with advanced grades improving motor efficiency by over 5%.
- This demand for low-loss electrical steel is evident across applications, from EV powertrain components like regenerative braking systems to electric power steering motors.
- In the energy sector, grid modernization and the expansion of wind turbine generator steel contribute to a market year-over-year growth rate exceeding 10%. High-frequency applications in power electronics require materials with high magnetic flux density and electrical resistivity.
- Consequently, demand for specialized lamination steel with optimized magnetic induction properties is increasing, making magnetic core components critical for performance.
What are the market trends shaping the Electrical Steel Industry?
- A primary market trend is the strategic expansion of premium and ultra-premium production capacity. This shift aims to serve the escalating demand from the electric vehicle and renewable energy industries.
- Market trends are increasingly focused on technological advancements to produce high-performance materials for next-generation applications. Producers are heavily investing in domain-refined steel and ultra-thin gauges to meet demand from the automotive and energy sectors. New production lines emphasize thin-gauge electrical steel, often below 0.27 mm, and high-silicon steel to create advanced magnetic materials for high-frequency transformer material.
- For instance, new facilities are adding capacity of over 100,000 tons per year for these specialty steel alloys. The annealing process is being optimized to enhance the properties of automotive-grade steel, improving the stacking factor and performance in a high-performance motor.
- These investments in cold-rolling technology are driven by long-term contracts for electrification materials, ensuring higher utilization than lines producing commodity grades and supporting the creation of high-efficiency motor laminations.
What challenges does the Electrical Steel Industry face during its growth?
- Significant overcapacity, particularly in commodity-grade products, remains a defining challenge that negatively impacts profitability and complicates strategic planning across the market.
- A defining market challenge is the structural overcapacity in commodity grades, which exerts significant pressure on profitability. With China accounting for over 55% of global production, the annual surplus is estimated at over 2.5 million tons, keeping operating rates at many basic oxygen furnace (BOF) facilities below 75%.
- This imbalance suppresses prices and creates intense competition, forcing producers to absorb rising costs for raw materials like recycled steel feedstock. The oversupply primarily affects standard silicon steel, making it difficult for companies to justify greenfield investments in secondary steelmaking for higher-value products outside of Asia.
- This environment leads to margin compression and complicates strategic planning, as the focus shifts to minimizing core loss, hysteresis loss, and eddy current loss without a corresponding price premium. This situation impacts the entire supply chain, from raw material procurement to the final electromagnetic device core.
Exclusive Technavio Analysis on Customer Landscape
The electrical steel market forecasting report includes the adoption lifecycle of the market, covering from the innovator’s stage to the laggard’s stage. It focuses on adoption rates in different regions based on penetration. Furthermore, the electrical steel market report also includes key purchase criteria and drivers of price sensitivity to help companies evaluate and develop their market growth analysis strategies.
Customer Landscape of Electrical Steel Industry
Competitive Landscape
Companies are implementing various strategies, such as strategic alliances, electrical steel market forecast, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, geographical expansion, and product/service launches, to enhance their presence in the industry.
Aperam SA - Offerings are centered on specialized electrical steel grades engineered to enhance efficiency and performance in demanding applications like electric vehicles and advanced power systems.
The industry research and growth report includes detailed analyses of the competitive landscape of the market and information about key companies, including:
- Aperam SA
- ArcelorMittal
- China Steel Corp.
- Cogent Power Inc.
- Cogne Acciai S.P.A.
- EVRAZ Plc
- JFE Holdings Inc.
- LIBERTY Steel Group
- Nippon Steel Corp.
- NLMK Group
- Orient Electric Ltd.
- PAO Severstal
- POSCO holdings Inc.
- Salzgitter AG
- Steel Dynamics Inc.
- TC Metal Co.
- thyssenkrupp AG
- United States Steel Corp.
Qualitative and quantitative analysis of companies has been conducted to help clients understand the wider business environment as well as the strengths and weaknesses of key industry players. Data is qualitatively analyzed to categorize companies as pure play, category-focused, industry-focused, and diversified; it is quantitatively analyzed to categorize companies as dominant, leading, strong, tentative, and weak.
Recent Development and News in Electrical steel market
- In January, 2025, POSCO completed its new 100,000 t/y production line for 0.18-0.23 mm non-grain-oriented electrical steel, specifically targeting the electric vehicle motor market.
- In November, 2024, JFE Steel commissioned an additional 80,000 t/y of Hi-B grain-oriented electrical steel capacity to meet the growing demand for high-efficiency transformers.
- In October, 2024, Baowu Steel Group launched a new 400,000 t/y integrated electrical steel facility with a strategic focus on producing advanced automotive-grade steels for new energy vehicles.
- In August, 2024, Voestalpine inaugurated a new high-permeability production line in Austria, aimed at supplying specialized electrical steel for the European renewable energy and e-mobility sectors.
Dive into Technavio’s robust research methodology, blending expert interviews, extensive data synthesis, and validated models for unparalleled Electrical Steel Market insights. See full methodology.
| Market Scope | |
|---|---|
| Page number | 286 |
| Base year | 2025 |
| Historic period | 2020-2024 |
| Forecast period | 2026-2030 |
| Growth momentum & CAGR | Accelerate at a CAGR of 11.8% |
| Market growth 2026-2030 | USD 30862.2 million |
| Market structure | Fragmented |
| YoY growth 2025-2026(%) | 10.6% |
| Key countries | China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, US, Canada, Mexico, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE, South Africa, Israel, Brazil, Argentina and Chile |
| Competitive landscape | Leading Companies, Market Positioning of Companies, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks |
Research Analyst Overview
- The electrical steel market is defined by a critical divergence between commodity and specialty grades, a trend that directly influences boardroom decisions on capital expenditure and strategic positioning. While global operating rates for standard silicon steel remain constrained below 75% due to oversupply, facilities producing domain-refined steel and thin-gauge electrical steel are nearing full capacity.
- This bifurcation underscores the industry's pivot toward high-performance materials such as high-permeability steel and high-silicon steel, which are essential for reducing core loss in advanced applications. Manufacturing processes like cold-rolling technology and sophisticated annealing processes are key differentiators, enabling the production of GOES and NGOES with superior magnetic permeability and low hysteresis loss.
- These materials are fundamental to the efficiency of a traction motor core or transformer core. For end-users, the focus is on performance metrics like magnetic flux density and the stacking factor, which are improved by advanced insulative coatings and ultra-thin gauges.
- This shift toward high-value products is a direct response to the stringent efficiency demands of the electrification and renewable energy sectors.
What are the Key Data Covered in this Electrical Steel Market Research and Growth Report?
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What is the expected growth of the Electrical Steel Market between 2026 and 2030?
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USD 30.86 billion, at a CAGR of 11.8%
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What segmentation does the market report cover?
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The report is segmented by Type (Grain oriented, and Non-grain oriented), End-user (Automobiles, Manufacturing, and Energy generation), Application (Transformer, Motor, and Inductor) and Geography (APAC, Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa, South America)
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Which regions are analyzed in the report?
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APAC, Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa and South America
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What are the key growth drivers and market challenges?
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Increasing demand for electrical steel in automotive industry, Overcapacity remains defining challenge for profitability and strategic planning across market
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Who are the major players in the Electrical Steel Market?
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Aperam SA, ArcelorMittal, China Steel Corp., Cogent Power Inc., Cogne Acciai S.P.A., EVRAZ Plc, JFE Holdings Inc., LIBERTY Steel Group, Nippon Steel Corp., NLMK Group, Orient Electric Ltd., PAO Severstal, POSCO holdings Inc., Salzgitter AG, Steel Dynamics Inc., TC Metal Co., thyssenkrupp AG and United States Steel Corp.
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Market Research Insights
- The market's dynamics are shaped by a strategic pivot towards high-performance materials for electrification, even as pricing pressures persist. The adoption of low-loss electrical steel in advanced magnetic materials is critical for achieving efficiency gains, with newer motor designs reducing energy consumption by up to 8%. However, with purchase price constituting a high-impact cost for buyers, manufacturers face margin compression.
- This is intensified by structural overcapacity, which keeps operating rates for commodity-grade steel below 75% in some regions. In contrast, facilities producing automotive-grade steel for high-performance motors and specialty steel alloys are experiencing robust demand, reflecting the industry's shift from volume to value. This bifurcation requires vendors to balance cost-competitiveness with innovation in electrification materials.
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