In the grand theater of technological evolution, where silicon has long reigned supreme, a silvery metal with the peculiar property of melting in your hand has emerged as an unlikely protagonist in the global struggle for technological dominance. Gallium, element 31 on the periodic table, however, represents far more than a chemical curiosity—it embodies the transformation of modern warfare, the backbone of renewable energy infrastructure, and the critical junction where geopolitics meets materials science. 

This remarkable element, extracted primarily as a byproduct of aluminum production, has evolved from laboratory oddity to become the linchpin of next-generation semiconductors, advanced military systems, and the artificial intelligence revolution. 

As nations grapple with supply chain vulnerabilities and China maintains its iron grip on 98% of global gallium production, this unassuming metal has become a flashpoint in technological sovereignty, forcing military strategists, industrial leaders, and policymakers to reimagine the foundations of national security in an age where a single element can determine the balance of global power.

Be sure to check out interesting facts about gallium and all other critical raw materials (CRMs), as well.

A Complete History Of Gallium

The story of gallium is one spanning 150 years, beginning with an almost magical prediction by Dmitri Mendeleev in 1871. The Russian chemist’s periodic table contained a ghost element—”eka-aluminum”—whose properties he described with uncanny precision: atomic weight near 68, density around 5.9 g/cm³, and a melting point so low it would liquify in your palm. When Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran discovered gallium four years later in his French laboratory, isolating mere milligrams from tonnes of zinc ore, he confirmed Mendeleev’s predictions with stunning accuracy, validating the periodic law itself.

The Technical Revolution Unfolds

Gallium’s journey from laboratory curiosity to technological cornerstone began in earnest during the semiconductor revolution. The 1952 synthesis of gallium arsenide crystals at Siemens revealed electron mobility six times greater than silicon—a discovery that would reshape electronics. Where silicon transistors struggle at 100 MHz, early gallium arsenide devices achieved 1 GHz operation in 1954. This superior high-frequency performance made gallium indispensable for satellite communications, military radar systems, and eventually, the mobile phone revolution. By 1962, Nick Holonyak Jr.’s demonstration of the first visible LED marked gallium’s entry into the photonics age, while the Apollo 11 lunar module’s gallium arsenide solar cells proved the element’s resilience in the harshest environments imaginable.

The Geopolitical Chessboard

China’s methodical capture of the gallium market—rising from zero production in 1980 to 85% global dominance by 2008—represented one of the most successful resource monopolization strategies in modern history. Through systematic development of extraction capabilities across 18 alumina refineries, China gained control of not just production, but the very technology needed to extract gallium efficiently. With the U.S. entirely dependent on imports for its 20 metric tons of annual consumption, gallium emerged as a critical vulnerability in Western supply chains.

The Quantum Leap Forward

The 2025 breakthrough in integrating gallium nitride transistors with silicon CMOS chips promises to bridge two semiconductor worlds, while applications in AI data centers and quantum computing position gallium at the forefront of the next computational revolution. With the global GaN semiconductor market growing at 27.4% annually, and valued at over $3 billion, gallium has become an enabler of technological sovereignty.

A Complete Chronology Of Gallium

This chronology traces gallium’s transformation from a scientific curiosity discovered in the age of empire to its emergence as a critical material underpinning artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and fifth-generation warfare systems, revealing how technological advancement and geopolitical strategy have become inextricably linked through the control of this remarkable metal.

• 1871 – Dmitri Mendeleev predicts the existence of gallium as “eka-aluminum” in his periodic table, theorizing gallium would have atomic weight of 68, specific gravity of 5.9 g/cm³, melting point near 30°C, and would form an oxide with formula Ea₂O₃, demonstrating unprecedented accuracy in elemental prediction
• 1875 – Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran discovers gallium on August 27 at 3:30 PM in his home laboratory in Cognac, France, observing two violet spectral lines at wavelengths 4170 and 4031 angstroms while examining 52 kilograms of zinc blende ore from the Pierrefitte mine in the Pyrenees; by November, Lecoq de Boisbaudran isolates first pure gallium through electrolysis of gallium hydroxide in potassium hydroxide solution, producing 1.6 milligrams in 4.5 hours using five bichromate voltaic cells, confirming gallium melts at 29.76°C
• 1876 – Lecoq de Boisbaudran produces 75 grams of pure gallium from processing over 4 tonnes of crude zinc ore, establishing gallium’s atomic weight at 69.86 (modern value: 69.723) and density at 5.94 g/cm³, validating Mendeleev’s predictions
• 1886 – Clemens Winkler discovers germanium (Mendeleev’s eka-silicon), further validating periodic law and increasing scientific interest in gallium as confirmation of periodic table’s predictive power
• 1915 – German military investigates gallium alloys for U-boat periscope seals and low-melting-point safety devices, marking gallium’s first military applications during World War I
• 1926 – Scientists at Alcoa discover gallium can alloy with most metals at temperatures below 100°C, leading to development of gallium-based dental amalgams and safety fuses that melt at 71°C
• 1932 – Soviet physicist Abram Ioffe discovers gallium expands 3.1% upon solidification (opposite of water), making gallium valuable for precision casting and non-shrinking molds
• 1942 – Manhattan Project scientists at Los Alamos investigate gallium for plutonium stabilization, discovering 1% gallium addition prevents phase transitions in plutonium metal
• 1947 – Bell Laboratories announces transistor invention on December 23, with John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley laying foundation for gallium’s future semiconductor applications
• 1952 – Heinrich Welker at Siemens AG in Munich synthesizes first gallium arsenide crystals and demonstrates GaAs has electron mobility six times higher than silicon at 8,500 cm²/V·s
• 1954 – RCA Laboratories produces first gallium arsenide transistor operating at 1 GHz, demonstrating gallium compounds’ superior high-frequency performance compared to silicon’s 100 MHz limit
• 1958 – Texas Instruments develops first commercial gallium arsenide devices for military radar systems, producing 100 units monthly for U.S. Air Force early warning systems
• 1962 – Nick Holonyak Jr. at General Electric’s Syracuse laboratory demonstrates first visible LED on October 9 at 4:00 PM, using gallium arsenide phosphide crystals to emit red light at 655 nanometers wavelength
• 1963 – Soviet Union launches Cosmos 20 satellite with gallium arsenide solar cells achieving 10% efficiency, proving gallium technology survives radiation exposure 10 times better than silicon
• 1965 – IBM incorporates gallium arsenide in System/360 Model 91 computer circuits, achieving switching speeds of 700 picoseconds, three times faster than silicon equivalents
• 1968 – Spectrolab produces gallium arsenide solar cells reaching 14% efficiency for NASA, generating 2 watts per square inch compared to silicon’s 1.2 watts
• 1969 – Apollo 11 lunar module uses 3,500 gallium arsenide solar cells producing 55 watts total power, operating successfully for 21.5 hours on lunar surface at temperatures ranging -173°C to 127°C
• 1970 – Zhores Alferov at Ioffe Institute and Herbert Kroemer at University of Colorado independently develop gallium arsenide heterostructure lasers operating continuously at room temperature, enabling fiber optic revolution
• 1972 – Japan’s Sumitomo Metal Mining begins extracting 2 metric tons gallium annually from Bayer process liquor at alumina refineries, establishing commercial gallium recovery
• 1974 – Hughes Aircraft produces first commercial gallium arsenide integrated circuits for F-15 Eagle radar systems, each chip containing 500 transistors operating at 4 GHz
• 1976 – Soviet Union establishes strategic gallium reserve of 50 metric tons at Novosibirsk, recognizing gallium’s importance for satellite communications and missile guidance systems
• 1978 – Gallium arsenide becomes standard in satellite transponders, with RCA SATCOM satellites using 24 GaAs amplifiers each producing 8.5 watts at 6 GHz
• 1980 – China’s Zhuzhou Smelter begins gallium extraction producing 500 kilograms annually from zinc processing residues, marking China’s entry into gallium market
• 1981 – Fujitsu develops first gallium arsenide metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors achieving 12 GHz operation for satellite communications
• 1983 – Strategic Defense Initiative allocates $200 million for gallium arsenide research, targeting phased array radars requiring 10,000 GaAs modules per system
• 1985 – Japanese researchers at Nagoya University achieve breakthrough growing 2-inch gallium nitride crystals on sapphire substrates using metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy
• 1987 – United States ceases primary gallium production at Eagle-Picher facility in Oklahoma, ending domestic production capacity of 4 metric tons annually
• 1989 – Fall of Berlin Wall disrupts Soviet gallium supply of 15 metric tons annually to Eastern Europe, causing prices to spike from $350/kg to $600/kg
• 1990 – Nichia Corporation produces first commercial blue gallium nitride LEDs with 0.18% efficiency, brightness of 1 candela, selling for $200 each
• 1991 – Gulf War demonstrates gallium arsenide’s critical role with Patriot missiles using GaAs transmit/receive modules achieving 90% target interception rate
• 1993 – Shuji Nakamura at Nichia develops high-brightness blue gallium nitride LED achieving 2.7% efficiency and 1,000 millicandela output using indium gallium nitride quantum wells
• 1994 – European Union designates gallium as strategic material requiring minimum stockpile of 10 metric tons for defense applications
• 1995 – Motorola StarTAC mobile phone incorporates gallium arsenide power amplifier enabling 3-hour talk time compared to 1 hour with silicon amplifiers
• 1996 – Sony introduces DVD players using gallium-based 650nm laser diodes reading 4.7 gigabytes compared to CD’s 700 megabytes
• 1998 – Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company establishes 6-inch gallium arsenide foundry producing 10,000 wafers monthly for wireless communications
• 2000 – China produces 8 metric tons of gallium capturing 15% global market share, with production costs 40% below Western competitors at $280/kg
• 2001 – U.S. military transformation doctrine emphasizes gallium-based Active Electronically Scanned Array radars providing 10 times greater range than mechanical radars
• 2003 – Iraq War’s “shock and awe” campaign utilizes 800 GPS-guided munitions daily, each containing gallium arsenide amplifiers for satellite signal processing
• 2005 – China’s gallium production reaches 50 metric tons annually, achieving 69% global market share through 13 Bayer-process alumina refineries
• 2006 – Cree Inc. commercializes first gallium nitride transistors operating at 28 volts producing 100 watts for cellular base stations
• 2008 – Global financial crisis forces closure of French gallium producer Recapture producing 8 tons annually, consolidating Chinese market dominance to 85%
• 2010 – China controls 80% of global gallium production capacity at 140 metric tons annually from 18 alumina refineries using ion-exchange extraction
• 2011 – European Union adds gallium to Critical Raw Materials list citing 95% import dependency and zero substitution possibilities for defense applications
• 2012 – U.S. Department of Defense identifies gallium supply vulnerability with domestic consumption of 20 metric tons annually entirely import-dependent
• 2013 – Tesla Model S incorporates gallium nitride in onboard charger reducing charging time by 30% while improving efficiency to 94%
• 2014 – Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura for gallium nitride blue LED invention enabling white LED lighting revolution
• 2015 – Raytheon receives first export license for gallium nitride Patriot radar to 22 countries, each system containing 5,000 GaN transmit/receive modules
• 2016 – China’s 13th Five-Year Plan targets 200 metric tons gallium production capacity and domestic GaN semiconductor industry worth 50 billion yuan
• 2017 – Tesla Model 3 uses gallium nitride inverter achieving 97% efficiency, extending range by 6% compared to silicon carbide alternatives
• 2018 – U.S. Executive Order 13817 designates gallium among 35 critical minerals, initiating Defense Production Act Title III program for domestic production
• 2019 – Huawei files 2,000th gallium nitride patent, controlling 15% of global GaN intellectual property and producing 5G base stations with 256 GaN amplifiers
• 2020 – COVID-19 pandemic drives 40% increase in gallium demand for ventilator displays and telecommunications infrastructure supporting remote work
• 2021 – Global gallium demand reaches 420 metric tons with 5G deployment requiring 20 kilograms gallium per base station across 1 million installations
• 2022 – Russia-Ukraine conflict disrupts 12 metric tons annual gallium supply from Mykolaiv Alumina Refinery, driving European spot prices to $590/kg
• 2023 – China implements gallium export licensing on August 1 requiring state approval, immediately reducing exports by 60% and triggering price surge to $730/kg
• 2024 – China announces complete gallium embargo on United States effective December 3, cutting off 14 metric tons annual supply and causing prices to exceed $800/kg
• 2025 – China adds ion-exchange resin technology for gallium extraction to export control list on January 2, protecting Sunresin’s 90% global market share in extraction technology; Infineon announces January 30 that gallium nitride reaches adoption tipping points in robotics and AI data centers, projecting 300% growth; MIT announces June 18 breakthrough integrating GaN transistors onto silicon CMOS using sub-400°C copper bonding; U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security designates gallium oxide as emerging technology August 12; global GaN semiconductor market valued at $3.06 billion with 27.4% annual growth rate

Final Thoughts

Gallium has transcended its origins as a laboratory curiosity to become the critical enabler of technologies that will define the remainder of the 21st century. The concentration of gallium production in China presents an unprecedented challenge to Western technological leadership, transforming this soft, silvery metal into a powerful lever of geopolitical influence that rivals traditional military might. Yet, the story of gallium also demonstrates humanity’s remarkable capacity for innovation under pressure, as nations race to develop recycling technologies, alternative sources, and novel extraction methods that could reshape the global balance of power. It seems very likely that this element will continue to mold the destiny of human civilization for generations to come.

Thanks for reading!

Appendix:

Global Gallium Production Map (2022 – 2025)

The gallium market’s transformation from industrial byproduct to strategic asset creates unprecedented investment complexity. While no public company offers pure gallium exposure, Rio Tinto’s Quebec project represents the most significant Western opportunity. The real value may lie in downstream semiconductor and technology companies that can secure reliable gallium supplies, gaining competitive advantages as China weaponizes its monopoly. Investors should focus on companies with integrated supply chains, government backing, and technology leadership rather than seeking direct commodity exposure.

China (98% of global production)

• Production Volume: 600 metric tons annually (2022)
• Key Regions: Guangxi, Henan, Shanxi, Guizhou provinces
• Major Facilities: 18 alumina refineries with gallium extraction
• Extraction Method: Ion-exchange resin from Bayer process liquor
• Notable Companies: Aluminum Corporation of China (Chalco), Zhuzhou Smelter, East Hope Group

Russia (0.8% of global production)

• Production Volume: 5 metric tons annually
• Location: Ural Aluminum Plant, Kamensk-Uralsky
• Method: Byproduct of aluminum production

Japan (0.5% of global production)

• Production Volume: 3 metric tons annually
• Companies: Sumitomo Metal Mining, Dowa Holdings
• Method: Recycling of semiconductor scrap

South Korea (0.3% of global production)

• Production Volume: 2 metric tons annually
• Method: Semiconductor recycling and zinc refining byproduct

Ukraine (Pre-2022)

• Production Volume: 12 metric tons annually (ceased 2022)
• Location: Mykolaiv Alumina Refinery
• Status: Production halted due to conflict