Germanium Material File
The Netherlands Materials Observatory (NMO) publishes material files (in Dutch) that provide insight into the availability, applications and strategic relevance of specific materials. This report focuses on gallium and brings together up-to-date, carefully analysed information relevant to government policy-making and decision-making in industry.
Applications
Worldwide, germanium is used in solar cells (10%), PET catalysts (20%), optical fibres (26%), infrared optics (22%), gamma-ray detectors (5%) and electronics (12%). In the EU, the emphasis is greater on optical fibres and IR optics, whilst the use of PET catalysts is more limited. Germanium is therefore of strategic importance to the European defence and aerospace industries and to digitalisation.
Export restrictions
Since August 2023, China has required an export licence for germanium products. In December 2024, China introduced a total export ban on germanium to the US. This export ban has been suspended until November 2026.
Price trends
Germanium pricing is opaque due to non-public contracts. In 2024, stockpiling and geopolitical tensions led to a sharp price rise. China’s export ban on the US caused prices in the US to be higher than in China..
Production and processing
Extraction
In 2023, germanium production was estimated at 243 tonnes (82% in China). As a by-product, ~62% comes from the processing of zinc ores, 30% from the combustion of lignite deposits and 8% from historical mine tailings.
Exploration
Optimising existing zinc processing methods is more relevant for germanium production in the short term than opening new mines. Various exploration companies are investigating germanium deposits outside China.
Reserves
As germanium is a by-product, global reserves and resources are difficult to determine. Global zinc resources (~1,900 Mt) and reserves (~230 Mt); lignite resources (~3,682 Gt) and reserves (~321 Gt) are known, but not all deposits contain elevated levels of germanium. The largest known germanium deposits are found in Chinese and Russian coal reserves.
Processing
Only a limited number of zinc smelters have a separate germanium production line, the majority of which are in China; outside China, Teck Resources (Red Dog zinc ore, Alaska, and processing in Trial, BC, Canada) is the largest producer.
Recycling
In total, 30% of annual germanium production comes from recycling. In 2020, 20.6 tonnes of Ge were processed from secondary materials in the EU, of which ~24% was imported. Within the EU, Umicore (Belgium) is the largest player in the field of germanium recycling.
The Netherlands’ role in trade and use
Dutch imports and exports
Dutch imports of germanium from China have fallen sharply since the Chinese export restrictions of August 2023. Chinese exports of processed germanium (HS code 81129910) to The Netherlands have virtually ceased, and Dutch imports of unprocessed germanium (81129295) have also fallen sharply. The Netherlands has no germanium processing or production of its own.
Origin of Dutch imports
Non-EU imports of germanium come mainly from China, with occasional volumes from the United States.
Applications in The Netherlands
Germanium tetrachloride is used in the manufacture of fibre-optic cables. Germanium is also used in the manufacture of infrared optical components for the defense sector.
Requests and conditions
This material file is only in Dutch and available exclusively on request to businesses and government bodies. The NMO makes the information in this file available, without obligation, to organisations active in the industry for which the content is relevant.
Organisations interested in one or more material dossiers can submit a request by sending an email via the button below. Please state in your email which file(s) you wish to receive. A member of the NMO team will then contact you to discuss the request in further detail.