Along the Appalachian Mountains is something rare – a vertically integrated silicon supply chain.
Upstream of the blast zones, the test ranges, the hardwon manufacturing, and the vital missions are the nation’s critical materials.
Silicon is the physical substrate of modern warfare – a material embedded in nearly every modern defense system.
Bill Hightower, a former Alabama state senator and now VP of U.S. Corporate Affairs for Ferroglobe, explains:
“There are only two silicon metal producers in the United States. Ferroglobe is by far the largest.”
The company’s U.S. footprint isn’t by accident:
“Most of our facilities are along the Appalachian range – because of the abundance of water, cheap energy, and the geological formation of the quartz itself.”
Small-town America powers it, Hightower says.
“One of the delights of my job is that I get to go into plants where we have three generations of family that have worked there.”
At the source, the mining process itself is surprisingly regenerative:
“Farmers love us. We dig 20 or 30 feet under the soil and pull up quartz gravel. We wash it out, put the dirt back, and then take the gravel to our smelter. We are actually leaving the land better than when we found it – and that’s not just a tagline.”
Hightower is blunt about the stakes: if the U.S. wants strategic autonomy from China, it needs to secure the country’s silicon supply chain.
“Think how much more effective a drone can be if it’s lighter or if it performs better.”
“Silicon metal goes into things like gaskets for rockets, high-heat ceramic applications in engine turbines, and warfighter vests.”
It’s a reminder that the defense map goes beyond missions and startups – it’s also materials.
“I want people to understand the importance of silicon. It’s almost like gasoline in your car – you’ve got to have it in order to produce the things that we all enjoy.”
