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Grain-oriented electrical steel (GOES)

The specially grown steel inside a large power transformer. Few mills can make it, and a new mill takes years.

The bottleneck itself →

Searched for “grain-oriented electrical steel”, “grain oriented silicon steel”, “amorphous core” in titles and abstracts.

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All stagesFundamental researchApplied / labPilot / demonstrationEarly commercialAt scaleNewestMost cited

At scale — readiness 9 to 9 of the nine-point scale. Evidence it takes: A filing or company report of volume production.

Judged by hand

Readiness and substitute status, with reasoning
  • TechnologyAt scalereadiness Estimate, not a measurementIn production at scale, but only for part of the problem. ABB has sold amorphous metal distribution transformers for two decades; the constraint is applicability rather than maturity, because the lower saturation induction means a larger core cross-section, larger coils and a larger footprint — acceptable on a pole, not on a grid-scale unit.By Substrata, open to challenge · 2026-09-18Supporting source →Judgement, cited · 2026-09-18

    Amorphous metal transformer cores

    In production at scale, but only for part of the problem. ABB has sold amorphous metal distribution transformers for two decades; the constraint is applicability rather than maturity, because the lower saturation induction means a larger core cross-section, larger coils and a larger footprint — acceptable on a pole, not on a grid-scale unit.

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