The European Space Agency’s sustainability chief revealed that research into using lunar regolith for solar panel production was accelerating as germanium shortages threatened traditional space power systems.

Three years of war have reshaped the critical metals markets. In the first of a two-part report, we look at how overlapping conflicts have reverberated through supply chains critical to defense and civilian industries.

The photovoltaic (PV) solar power industry is continuing to evolve, but demand for gallium as a doping element in silicon-based PV cells is gradually declining, market participants told Fastmarkets early in 2025.

Critical minerals sector braces for policy upheaval under Trump while experts predict market fundamentals and Republican state interests will preserve industry momentum

Trade tensions and critical minerals: 2025 outlook on disruptions, supply chain diversification, and local production strategies.

China's tightened export controls on gallium and germanium formalize existing restrictions, heightening supply concerns amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

After initial market turbulence when China introduced export controls on gallium, germanium and graphite last year, a new normal has settled into the international markets for these metals, market participants have told Fastmarkets

The benchmarks set out by the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) are “not realistic” without a financial support mechanism, according to the director of a planned facility to reintroduce magnesium production to Europe

The international gallium market remains under pressure from the export control China introduced on the metal in August 2023, despite higher exports from China in December, Fastmarkets heard in the week to Monday February 5

With China’s stringent implementation of its gallium export controls persisting through to the end of 2023 at least, 2024 looks set to become a make-or-break year for gallium market participants outside China