Substitution and Thrifting in Critical Mineral Markets
Facts checked against sources on . How we check facts.
Substitution replaces a critical mineral with another material, and thrifting uses less of it per product. The largest documented case is cobalt: lithium iron phosphate cells, which contain no cobalt or nickel, made up about 72% of cathode material shipped in 2025. For most other minerals USGS says the options are limited: manganese has no satisfactory substitute in its major applications, chromium has none in stainless steel or superalloys, and most tungsten carbide substitutes reduce rather than replace the tungsten.
72%
of cathode material shipped in 2025 was lithium iron phosphate, which uses no cobalt or nickel
Source: SNE Research
25% to 50%
USGS: about 25% of palladium can routinely be substituted for platinum in diesel converters, up to 50% in some applications
None
satisfactory substitute for manganese in its major applications
>$40 million
DOE-supported research into magnet, motor and generator substitutes in the year to 2011
Source: U.S. Department of Energy
Which critical minerals can be substituted, and at what cost?
The table groups the minerals by what USGS says about substitutes in its 2026 chapters. "Performance loss" means USGS states that the substitute loses performance or costs more.
| Mineral | What USGS says can substitute | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Manganese | None satisfactory. | No substitute in major applications. |
| Chromium | Chromium-containing scrap can replace ferrochromium in some metallurgical uses. | No substitute in stainless steel, the leading use, or in superalloys. |
| Vanadium | Manganese, molybdenum, niobium, titanium and tungsten to a degree in steel; platinum or nickel as catalysts. | No acceptable substitute in aerospace titanium alloys. |
| Cobalt | Iron-phosphate cathodes; ferrites or nickel-iron alloys in magnets; nickel-base alloys or ceramics in jet engines; nickel in petroleum catalysts. | Loss of product performance or higher cost depending on application. |
| Tungsten | Molybdenum, niobium or titanium carbides, ceramics, cermets and tool steels; depleted uranium or lead where density or shielding is needed. | Most options reduce rather than replace the amount of tungsten. |
| Niobium | Molybdenum and vanadium in high-strength steels; ceramic matrix composites, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten in superalloys. | Performance loss or higher cost. |
| Graphite | Synthetic graphite powder and secondary synthetic graphite in batteries; synthetic powder and petroleum coke in steelmaking. | Substitutes are other forms of carbon. |
| Lithium | Sodic and potassic fluxes in ceramics and glass; calcium and aluminum soaps in greases. | Battery substitution examples are for primary, non-rechargeable batteries. |
| Platinum group metals | Palladium for platinum in most gasoline-engine converters; one PGM for another in some industrial uses. | Some industrial substitutions lose efficiency. |
| Gallium | Silicon circuits and solar cells; indium phosphide lasers; silicon-germanium transistors. | No effective substitutes for GaAs and GaN in many defense applications. |
| Germanium | Silicon or gallium arsenide in some electronics; chalcogenide glass in infrared optics; antimony or titanium as polymerization catalysts. | Specific to the application. |
| Indium | Antimony tin oxide, carbon nanotubes, PEDOT, nanowires and graphene for ITO; hafnium in control rod alloys. | Researched or developed; USGS does not say they are widely adopted. |
| Rare earths | Substitutes are available for many applications. | Generally less effective. |
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, "Substitutes" paragraph of each chapter (cobalt, manganese, chromium, vanadium, tungsten, niobium, graphite, lithium, platinum group metals, gallium, germanium, indium, rare earths).
When has substitution actually happened?
The clearest cases follow price or supply signals. Palladium replaced platinum in most gasoline converters because of its historically lower price, and in 2025 platinum substituting back into automobile catalysts was one reason USGS gives for the 25% rise in the platinum price. In batteries, USGS says cobalt-free iron and phosphorus cells held significant market share in China and the cobalt content of lithium-ion batteries was falling, and SNE Research's 72% LFP share for 2025 shows the scale. In rare earth magnets, the Department of Energy reported in 2011 that wind and EV makers were weighing neodymium and dysprosium performance against supply risk, and it supported more than $40 million of magnet, motor and generator substitute research that year.
How does thrifting differ from substitution?
Thrifting keeps the material but cuts the amount used. For magnets, Osaka University research cited on our magnet rare earths page describes grain boundary diffusion, which applies dysprosium from the magnet surface, as an effective way to raise coercivity, and notes that adding dysprosium or terbium lowers the maximum energy product. For tungsten, USGS says most carbide substitutes reduce rather than replace tungsten use. The limit on thrifting is performance: the cost-saving option has to deliver the same function.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between substitution and thrifting?
Substitution replaces a critical mineral with a different material, such as iron-phosphate cathodes instead of cobalt-containing ones. Thrifting uses less of the same mineral per product, such as applying dysprosium to a magnet's surface rather than throughout it.
Can anything replace cobalt in batteries?
Yes. USGS says cobalt-free substitutes using iron and phosphorus held significant market share in China, and the cobalt content of lithium-ion batteries was being decreased. Lithium iron phosphate was about 72% of cathode material shipped in 2025, according to SNE Research.
Which critical minerals have no substitute?
USGS says manganese has no satisfactory substitute in its major applications and chromium has none in stainless steel or superalloys. It also says there is no acceptable substitute for vanadium in aerospace titanium alloys and no effective substitute for gallium arsenide and gallium nitride in many defense uses.
Can silicon replace gallium arsenide?
In some uses. Silicon circuits compete with gallium arsenide in midtier 3G handsets and silicon is the main competitor in solar cells. For many defense integrated circuits USGS says no effective substitute exists.
Sources
Read on October 13, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 (13 commodity chapters, Substitutes paragraphs). Each chapter is linked under the table
- SNE Research: global cathode material shipments, 2025
- U.S. Department of Energy: 2011 Critical Materials Strategy, summary
- Osaka University research on grain boundary diffusion of dysprosium. As cited with its link on our magnet rare earths page
