Uses & Applications

Applications and End-Uses for Thulium

Thulium (Tm) is a high-criticality rare earth element with annual global production of approximately 3 tonnes. Thulium is the least abundant naturally occurring lanthanide rare earth element. When irradiated in a nuclear reactor, thulium-170 produces X-rays, enabling portable X-ray devices used in medical and industrial applications. Thulium lasers are used in minimally invasive surgery, and the element has applications in high-temperature superconductors and anti-counterfeiting technologies.

Key Applications

The primary end-uses of Thulium span multiple sectors. The following applications represent the most significant sources of global demand:

• Portable X-ray machines - Key alternatives include Battery-powered electronic X-ray tubes. Electronic X-ray tubes are now more common; Tm-170 sources remain useful for truly portable field applications where no power source is available
• Laser materials - Key alternatives include Holmium:YAG lasers, CO2 lasers. Thulium fiber lasers at ~2 micron wavelength offer advantages in eye-safe LIDAR and water-absorbing surgical applications; alternatives serve different wavelength niches
• High-temperature superconductors - Thulium is valued in high-temperature superconductors for its unique physical and chemical properties that are difficult to replicate with alternative materials.
• Anti-counterfeiting measures - Thulium is valued in anti-counterfeiting measures for its unique physical and chemical properties that are difficult to replicate with alternative materials.

Product Forms and Specifications

Thulium is commercially available in 3 primary product forms, each serving different industrial requirements:

Demand Outlook

Thulium appears on both the USGS Critical Minerals List and the EU Critical Raw Materials List, underscoring its strategic importance across Western economies. Growing demand from electrification, digitalization, and defense modernization is expected to place additional pressure on the Thulium supply chain through the end of this decade.