Gallium Substitutes: Alternatives and Trade-offs
Facts checked against sources on . How we check facts.
Gallium can be replaced in some applications and not in others. For LEDs in displays, USGS names liquid crystals made from organic compounds. It names substitutes for 6 applications in all, and the table below gives its wording for each, including where a substitute costs performance or does not exist.
900,000 kg
estimated world primary low-purity production in 2025
99%
of world primary low-purity production came from China in 2025
$580/kg
gallium metal, average unit value of imports in 2025 (+32% on 2024)
What is gallium used for?
- Integrated circuits: 73% of US gallium consumption in 2025; gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN) wafers for defense applications, high-performance computers and telecommunications equipment
- Optoelectronic devices: 26%; laser diodes, light-emitting diodes (LEDs), photodetectors and solar cells for aerospace, consumer goods, industrial and medical equipment and telecommunications
Which materials can replace gallium?
| Application | Substitute and trade-off |
|---|---|
| LEDs in displays | Liquid crystals made from organic compounds |
| GaAs power amplifiers in handsets | Silicon-based complementary metal-oxide semiconductor amplifiers in midtier 3G handsets |
| Infrared laser diodes | Indium phosphide components in some specific-wavelength applications |
| Solar cells | Silicon, the principal competitor |
| Heterojunction bipolar transistors | Silicon-germanium is replacing GaAs in some applications |
| Defense integrated circuits | No effective substitutes exist for GaAs and GaN |
Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026, Gallium. USGS says substitutes often cost performance or money; the table gives its wording for each application.
Frequently asked questions
What can replace gallium?
LEDs in displays: liquid crystals made from organic compounds; GaAs power amplifiers in handsets: silicon-based complementary metal-oxide semiconductor amplifiers in midtier 3G handsets; Infrared laser diodes: indium phosphide components in some specific-wavelength applications.
What is gallium used for?
Gallium is used in integrated circuits and optoelectronic devices. Integrated circuits: 73% of US gallium consumption in 2025; gallium arsenide (GaAs) and gallium nitride (GaN) wafers for defense applications, high-performance computers and telecommunications equipment.
Can gallium be recycled?
There is no old scrap recycling of gallium in the United States. Substantial new scrap from making GaAs devices is reprocessed into high-purity gallium at one facility in New York.
Is gallium a critical mineral?
Yes. Gallium is on all four official critical minerals lists: the US, EU, Australian and Canadian. Gallium was already on the 2022 US list and stays on the final 2025 list of 60 minerals. US net import reliance for gallium in 2025 was 100%.
Sources
Read on October 14, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Gallium. Production, reserves, uses, substitutes, recycling and events
- USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: introduction (Table 7 and Figures 10A and 10B). Net import reliance, leading producer and price changes for critical minerals
- Federal Register: Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) 2024/1252
- Department of Industry, Science and Resources: Australia’s Critical Minerals List and Strategic Materials List
- Government of Canada: Canada’s critical minerals
- EarthRarest price list. Dealer list price, read October 14, 2026; our sister business
- Alcoa: gallium project factsheet (August 2026)
- Rio Tinto: first gallium extracted from its alumina refining process with Indium Corporation (7 May 2025)
- Metlen: EUR 295.5 million investment in bauxite, alumina and gallium (16 January 2025)
- Metlen: gallium supply agreement (29 July 2026)
- DOWA Electronics Materials: high-purity metals page (page footer dated 2019)
- AXT Inc., Form 10-K for 2025 (filed 17 March 2026)
- Aluminum Corporation of China: 2025 annual results announcement (HKEXnews, 27 March 2026)
Related topics
Gallium: full profile
Uses, producers, price, substitutes and critical list status for gallium.
Gallium price
The price page for gallium.
China profile
Production, policy and projects in China.
Critical Minerals Lists Compared
The US, EU, Australian and Canadian lists side by side.
Export Controls and Restrictions
China, Indonesia, DR Congo and other measures with dates.
Germanium
Profile of germanium.
