What is ARMCO IRON？

The race to solve electric vehicle (EV) range anxiety isn’t just about bigger batteries—it’s about making every component of the powertrain work harder with less waste. For EV motors, the unsung hero of efficiency is the core material, and SLH High Purity Iron has emerged as a game-changer in this space, outperforming standard low carbon steel and generic magnetic materials by a significant margin.

EV motors rely on magnetic flux to convert electrical energy into mechanical power, but impurities in the core material—like carbon, phosphorus, or sulfur—act as “roadblocks” for magnetic fields. These impurities cause hysteresis and eddy current losses, which waste energy as heat and reduce the motor’s output. SLH High Purity Iron addresses this by achieving a purity level of 99.95% Fe, with carbon content as low as 0.003% and phosphorus/sulfur levels below 0.006%. This near-perfect composition eliminates those magnetic roadblocks, allowing flux to flow freely through the core.

To put this in perspective: a leading EV manufacturer recently tested SLH High Purity Iron against a standard low carbon steel (0.15% C) in their 200kW motor. The results were striking: the SLH-equipped motor had a core loss of just 0.3 W/kg at 200Hz (a common EV motor frequency), compared to 0.8 W/kg for the low carbon steel variant. This 62.5% reduction in loss translated to a 7% boost in motor efficiency, which added 53km to the vehicle’s NEDC range—no battery size increase required.

But SLH’s advantage isn’t just about purity; it’s about consistency. EV manufacturers need thousands of motor cores per month, and even tiny variations in material composition can lead to inconsistent motor performance. SLH uses a “vacuum degassing + continuous casting” process that ensures batch-to-batch variation in magnetic permeability is under 3%, far below the industry average of 10%. This consistency means the manufacturer can skip costly re-calibration steps for each core batch, cutting production time by 15%.

Durability is another key factor. EV motors operate at high temperatures (up to 150°C) and face constant vibration, which can degrade lesser materials over time. SLH High Purity Iron undergoes a specialized annealing process that strengthens its crystal structure, making it resistant to thermal fatigue. The same EV manufacturer found that after 100,000km of testing, the SLH core’s magnetic performance had degraded by just 1.2%, compared to 4.5% for the low carbon steel core.

For EV makers, SLH High Purity Iron isn’t just a material—it’s a strategic tool to close the range gap with internal combustion engines. By turning waste heat back into usable power, SLH helps make EVs more practical, affordable, and appealing to consumers. As the EV market grows, materials like SLH High Purity Iron will become even more critical to unlocking the full potential of electric mobility.