Gallium Price ($US/KG)
14 July 2024 : Price $869.20 Movement: +$52.80 (+6.46%)
1 January 2024: Price $755.80
Gallium Price Surges U$52.80 /kg
After a big intra-week move in the gallium price, the market appeared to settle as we closed the week. On the long-term charts, this looks like a discernible breakout. For those who are avid readers of Underneath the Radar, we have consistently documented the large macro trends in demand for compound semiconductors like gallium nitride and the limited ability for the market to mount a supply response.
Ultimately when buyers outstrip sellers the price must rise accordingly to incentivise new production. However, due to the nature of gallium as a secondary mineral to either zinc sulfide or bauxite orebodies…..price alone will not solve this tight market. We welcome its bullish nod to underlying market fundamentals.
We at G50 believe Gallium demand to be relatively price-inelastic with little in the way of demand destruction due to GaN’s properties as a wide-bandgap semiconductor. Gallium is used prolifically in the energy transition to support more efficient energy systems for aerospace/defence, data centers, EV’s, consumer electronics and even radiopharmaceutical diagnostics.
Hold on to your hats, the next 6 months will be interesting!
You know it’s big when the US Census Bureau starts counting it!
A great linkedin post this week by David McFadyen (link below) notes the US Census Bureau announced it would now split out data center [sic] investment within its private sector construction figures, with the national data provider also disclosing historical numbers for the first time (chart below).
The seasonally-adjusted annual rate for May 2024 grew 69% YoY to US$27.2bn, and over the past two years spending in the category has more than doubled*.
Nyrstar discusses critical minerals at international summit in Washington, D.C.
CLARKSVILLE, TN – Nyrstar’s Global Head of Strategic Initiatives, Greg Belland, was a guest speaker on a panel about the critical minerals industry at the Select USA Summit recently held in Washington D.C. The Summit brought together government leaders, business visionaries and investors from more than 75 countries, as well as economic development organizations from every corner of the U.S.
Belland spoke about Nyrstar’s operations as an international producer of critical minerals and metals and highlighted our opportunities to produce approximately 80% of the annual domestic U.S. needs of germanium and gallium. These materials, which have been in the news a lot lately, are dominated by China. Germanium and gallium are essential to the green energy transition, high tech and national security.
Participants who join this annual event, organized by the U.S. government, gain insight into the latest policy and investment trends, make connections, and initiate meaningful business relationships. The Select USA Investment Summit is the highest-profile event dedicated to promoting foreign direct investment in the United States, with a focus on the U.S. investment environment, industry trends and creating business opportunities.
Currently, Tennessee is the only place in the U.S. where gallium and germanium can both be extracted and processed at such high levels.
The Clarksville smelter is the only primary zinc producer in the United States. The smelter, which has been in Clarksville for more than 45 years, produces special high grade (SHG) zinc, zinc alloys, sulphuric acid, germanium concentrate, leach products, zinc sulphate, copper sulphate, and cadmium metal using roast, leach, and electrolysis (RLE) smelting technology.
Air Force asks Lockheed Martin to build four gallium nitride (GaN)-based 3DELRR air-defense radar systems
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass.
U.S. Air Force tactical radar experts are asking Lockheed Martin Corp. to build four air-defense radar systems to detect, identify and track enemy missiles as well as manned and unmanned aircraft.
Officials of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., announced a $81.3 million order to the Lockheed Martin Corp. Rotary and Mission Systems segment in Liverpool, N.Y., for four AN/TPY-4 Three-Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar (3DELRR) systems.
The 3DELRR radar is to replace the Air Force’s Northrop Grumman AN/TPS-75 transportable 3-D passive electronically scanned array air search radar for enabling U.S. and allied invasion forces to protect themselves from airborne threats after establishing beachheads.
3DELRR is the principal Air Force long-range, ground-based sensor for detecting, identifying, tracking, and reporting aerial targets for the Joint Force Air Component Commander through the Theater Air Control System, Air Force officials say.
The 3DELRR system is designed to deal with regional and near-peer conflicts of the future that could involve large numbers of enemy-advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and ballistic and cruise missiles. 3DELRR is designed to detect, identify, and track objects at great distances. The radar is interoperable with coalition systems and meet the requirements of many foreign militaries.
The 3DELRR system is similar to the Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) that Northrop Grumman is building the for U.S. Marine Corps. G/ATOR is being developed to protect Marine Corps expeditionary forces from rockets, artillery, mortars, cruise missiles, UAVs, and other low observables. It is a deployable short-to-medium-range multi-role radar system. 3DELRR, on the other hand, is designed to detect and track threats at longer ranges.
Like 3DELRR, the G/ATOR is based on gallium nitride (GaN) technology, yet the G/ATOR system is designed to handle air surveillance, weapon cueing, counter-fire target acquisition, and air traffic control for Marine Corps warfighters operating in invasion beaches.
The 3DELRR will provide the Air Force control and reporting center with real-time data to display air activity, and will provide warning and target information.
The system also will provide operators with a precise, real-time air picture to provide air traffic control services to individual aircraft across a wide range of environmental and operational conditions.
https://www.militaryaerospace.com/sensors/article/55093493/lockheed-martin-radar-gallium-nitride-gan-air-defense
China’s Innoscience Breached American Firm’s Next-Gen Chip IP, US Int’l Trade Commission Says
Innoscience Zhuhai Technology, a Chinese maker of semiconductors, has infringed on American rival Efficient Power Conversion’s intellectual property involving a novel technology that could replace silicon in chips, according to a preliminary ruling of the United States International Trade Commission.
EPC’s lawsuit, started in May, is coming to an end as the federal agency issued the initial ruling today that confirmed that EPC’s two key patents involving gallium nitride are valid. Innoscience and its American units have violated its foundational patent, it added.
Even the China National Intellectual Property Administration confirmed that EPC’s two patents in China are active despite Innoscience’s complaint, Yicai learned. The copyright issue could affect the Chinese firm’s listing as the company filed its prospectus to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing last month. The ITC will issue a final ruling around Nov. 5, which may result in a ban on Innoscience’s related products in the States.
The dispute indicates that the world is increasingly paying attention to gallium nitride, an emerging power conversion technology that could improve the energy efficiency of semiconductors while lowering costs. The global gallium nitride market will grow to billions of US dollars in the next two to three years and peak at tens of billions of dollars in the next decade, experts predicted.
Alex Lidow, co-founder and chief executive of EPC, said: “ITC’s finding that Innoscience uses our patented technology without authorization puts EPC in an enviable position, as U.S. and Chinese regulatory bodies have upheld the validity of our patents.”
Founded in December 2015, Innoscience focuses on gallium nitride chips, used in fast charging, wireless charging, data centers, and automotive electronics. It has independently developed such manufacturing and packaging technologies.
Emmi Laine
Chip Boom
Demand for AI has boomed so much that it spurred $3.5 billion of exports of chips and related equipment from Taiwan last month, a 422% surge from a year ago. The US was the biggest customer for chips, with total shipments in June up more than 74%. Taiwan is home to TSMC, the world’s most-advanced chipmaker that is the main supplier to the likes of Nvidia and Apple.
“Taiwan continues to ride the coattails of the artificial intelligence boom and cyclical tech cycle rebound, which will likely support exports in the coming months,” said Gary Ng, a senior economist from Natixis.
Source: Bloomberg