Global supplies of the rare earth element yttrium are running low due to Chinese export restrictions. This raises concerns about shortages and rising costs that could hit production in the aerospace, energy and semiconductor industries, writes Reuters.
Chinathe main source of this element, introduced export restrictions in April along with six other rare earth elements in retaliation for tariffs imposed by the US.
While last month's high-stakes meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping raised industry hopes for more reliable material flows, the dispute has not been fully resolved.
Though China has already suspended some of its restrictions on rare earth elementsthe April export controls are still in force, which raises questions about the American industry's access to this raw material in the absence of a comprehensive agreement between Washington and Beijing, writes Reuters.
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The fight for yttrium has been going on for several months
Controls that require exporters to obtain licenses from Beijing make it difficult to source yttrium from China, according to four rare earths traders and Argus analyst Ellie Saklatvli.
“Chinese export controls have undoubtedly sparked a fight for yttrium that has been going on for several months now,” Saklatvla said.
European prices of yttrium oxide, used, among others, for the production of thermal insulation coatings, have increased by 4,400 percent since January. up to $270 per kilogram, according to Argus data. Chinese prices, around $7. per kilogram, increased by 16% during this period. , but they continue to decline, according to the data.
Yttrium is an element with an atomic weight of 88,906
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China said stop. “The scale of the problem is 9 out of 10”
The U.S. industry body Aerospace Industries Association said yttrium is essential to producing the world's most advanced jet engines and is working with Washington to boost domestic supplies.
“Currently, our supply chain is highly dependent on imports from China – a dependence that has contributed to rising costs in the face of mounting shortages,” said Dak Hardwick, AIA vice president of international relations.
The shortage is also a major problem for the semiconductor industry, where yttrium is used as a protective coating and insulator, two industry sources said. One of them described the scale of the problem as “9 out of 10”.
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In addition to aircraft engines and semiconductors, yttrium coatings are used in gas power plants to protect turbine blades from high temperatures.
The United States imports all of its yttrium, with 93 percent comes directly from China, and the remainder is made from material that was originally processed in China, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said in a January report.
Source: Reuters
