INTERVIEW: Safeguard to help EU ferroalloy plants regain share, restart investments

The European Commission's three-year safeguard measure to reduce EU imports of ferro-manganese, ferro-silicon, ferro-silico-manganese, and ferro-silico-magnesium by 25% is sufficient for producers to regain their home market share, which exceeded 30% four years ago but has shrunk to 15% recently, Marco Levi, CEO of Ferroglobe and President of Euroalliages, the European association of ferro-alloys and silicon producers, told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, in an interview.

The safeguard measure is expected to help local producers regain their domestic positions and become profitable enough to restart projects on hold, most of which focus on replacing coal and lowering CO2 emissions.

The proposed measure requires a positive vote from at least 15 of the 27 countries, representing at least 65% of the EU27 population, according to Levi, who is optimistic about the measure receiving a green light this time.

The initial proposed measures in July did not pass, and the European Commission retracted a new draft distributed in October.

Production lags despite ample capacity

The latest proposal is the final compromise, although it does not protect silicon metal and calcium silicon. The exclusion of silicon metal is a paradox, given that it is a strategic and critical raw material, Levi said.

There has been no production of calcium silicon or silicon metal in the EU since Sept. 29, when Ferroglobe, a major producer, idled all its silicon plants due to low demand and Chinese prices well below its cash costs; however, the facilities remain and can be restarted.

Euroalliages will challenge the European Commission regarding silicon metal.

"The Commission said the safeguard measure does not apply to silicon metal because it is a far more energy-intensive product, the most energy-intensive one after aluminum and polysilicon," said Levi.

"They also do not see silicon as part of the ferroalloy product mix, saying it is not interchangeable with ferrosilicon, which is wrong, as we can switch furnaces from silicon metal to ferrosilicon and vice versa. Lastly, they argue that there is no case because silicon metal imports into Europe have not increased over the last five years," he said.

In absolute terms, it is true, but consumption of silicon metal in the EU27 has decreased by 20% in the last four years, resulting in imports rising from 70% to 85% of the EU market, while the share of local producers has shrunk from 30% to 15%. In relative terms, importers have gained a significant portion of the market, according to Levi.

Still, for supply security and to lower the EU carbon footprint, it is better to approve some measures now rather than none. "You need a certain level of self-sufficiency in strategic and critical raw materials. For the EU, this would mean meeting at least 40% of local demand with local production," said Levi.

Asked if 40% is a realistic target, he said the EU has enough capacity. Whether the proposed measures will allow full utilization is another question, but they can help rebalance things so that Europe is more integrated in critical and strategic raw materials than it is now.

Sales expected to rise in early 2026

If the measure is passed, Euroalliages believes EU producers will see a positive shift in sales volumes at the beginning of 2026, supported by the EU's recent decision to protect its steel industry by cutting steel imports by 50%.

"We expect EU steel production to increase 3%-4% next year, and we expect an increase in consumption of ferrosilicon and manganese alloys from the second half of 2026," said Levi, adding that EU ferroalloy producers are prepared to ramp up operations with no issues upstream.

"Ferroglobe is totally back integrated in quartz, which is the key raw material for ferrosilicon. We have several sources of coal, but also biomass and biocarbon, and we produce our own electrodes in China," he said.

The company does not have captive manganese ore but receives feedstock from several locations, including Australia, South Africa, Ghana, and Brazil.

"For foundry products, we have limited sources of magnesium, of which there is no production in Europe and none in the US. In the past, we bought [raw material] from Russia. Now we don't. We buy from China, but we need relatively small volumes of magnesium metal for our production," said Levi.

Asked why the threshold prices applied to out-of-quota imports of the four ferroalloys look prohibitive — with comparably high values seen in 2022 and 2024 — he said they have been calculated based on the average cost to produce in Europe, plus the costs to invest and decarbonize, plus a profit margin. The resulting levels reflect the minimum price required for sustainable ferroalloy production in Europe.

Limited protection in other parts of Europe

Notably, despite Euroalliages requesting protection for Norway, Iceland, and Bosnia, the Commission found imports from the Nordic countries injurious.

Just over 47% of the EU's imports of ferro-manganese, ferro-silicon, and ferro-silico-manganese come from Norway and Iceland, which supplied the bloc with 535,210 mt/year and 70,743 mt/year, respectively, from 2022 to 2024. During the first twelve months of the safeguard measure — through Nov. 17, 2026 — Norway could sell the EU 401,405 mt of these ferroalloys and Iceland 53,056 mt, with the respective quotas equaling 75% of their former exports, according to the European Commission.

Due to its energy and other subsidies, Norway is an inexpensive place to produce ferroalloys and holds a large market share in the EU as a result of its advantageous cost position. On the other hand, the country has no measures in place to protect its own market, and Norwegian consumers of ferroalloys often do not source them domestically, according to Levi.

"Based on our information and trade statistics, the country's three major aluminum producers cover their needs in alloys with imports from China, even though they have silicon metal production at their doorstep," he said, adding that Iceland is a similar case—a big importer of alloys without market barriers of its own, whereas the EU has at least some limitations, such as AD duties on Chinese silicon metal. "This is another paradox that needs to be addressed," said Levi.