Producer
Elkem ASA
Norwegian specialty silicones and silicon metal producer; revenue ~NOK 38B (2024). Operates BLUESIL™ brand for agrochemical and specialty silicone elastomers. Primary production at Roussillon, France. Significant upstream position in silicon metal (Elkem is also a major silicon metal producer, giving it feedstock independence). Competes with Wacker and Shin-Etsu in agricultural-grade LSR.
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Silicones (Bluesil)
35%Silicon Metal
30%Foundry Products
20%Carbon & Microsilica
15%
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Origin2023
Elkem was founded in 1904 in Kristiania (Oslo) as Elektrisk Metallurgisk Aktieselskab -- Electric Metallurgical Company -- by engineer Sam Eyde and physicist Kristian Birkeland, the same duo who invented the Birkeland-Eyde electric arc process for nitrogen fixation (atmospheric nitrogen to nitric acid). Their discovery of how to use Norway's vast hydroelectric power for high-temperature electrochemical reactions was the foundation of Norwegian industrial chemistry. Elkem specifically applied this to silicon and ferroalloy smelting: Norwegian waterfalls powered electric arc furnaces that melted quartz and carbon into silicon metal and ferrosilicon, with electricity cheap enough to compete globally. Norway's unique combination of abundant hydropower and proximity to quartz deposits made Elkem's smelters cost-competitive against any other location on Earth for over a century. The company was acquired by China National Bluestar (a ChemChina subsidiary) in 2011 -- making Norway's historic electrochemical pioneer Chinese state-owned.
Elkem ASA ↗Did you know2023
Elkem ASA is unusual among silicone producers in operating both silicon metal smelters (solar- and metallurgical-grade) and downstream BLUESIL™ silicone elastomer production. This vertical integration insulates Elkem from silicon metal price spikes that can raise LSR costs for Wacker, Shin-Etsu, and Dow by 20–30% in tight markets — a structural cost advantage invisible to most customers.
Wikipedia ↗