#39
Y
Last update: 2026-04-04
5 records
5 records
Retail Reference
$7/kg
Oxide 99.99% (4N)
· 1 kg
Edgetech Industries
· CN
· 2026-03-15
Bulk Benchmark
—
No commodity benchmark available
Export Licence
Chinese export licence required for Yttrium in all controlled forms.
Regulatory Tracker →
Applications
| Application | Role | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| YSZ ceramics | Yttria-stabilised zirconia (3–8% Y2O3) | Solid oxide fuel cell electrolytes, dental crowns, thermal barrier coatings on jet-engine blades |
| YAG / YVO4 lasers | Y3Al5O12 host crystal doped with Nd, Er, Yb | Industrial cutting/welding lasers, defence directed-energy systems, ophthalmic lasers |
| Phosphors | Y2O3:Eu (red), Y2O2S:Eu | Fluorescent lamps, white LEDs, CRT phosphors (legacy), medical imaging screens |
| HTSC superconductors | YBa2Cu3O7 (YBCO) | Second-generation HTS wire for fusion magnets, MRI, grid fault current limiters |
| Aluminium alloys | Y additions to Al–Mg, Mg alloys | Grain refinement, improved corrosion resistance for aerospace |
Market & Supply
Global Y2O3 production
~9,000 t/year (REO basis)
China refined supply share
~99% [4]
Major non-CN deposits
Mountain Pass (US), Mt Weld (AU)
US imports decline (8 months)
−90% post-Apr 2025 [4]
Export control
MOFCOM/GAC No. 18/2025 [2]
Oxide bulk benchmark
$7–$10/kg (FOB China)
Metal small-qty retail
$9,000–$10,000/kg
Retail premium
~1,000× vs. oxide
Verified Offers
All in-stock retail listings normalised to USD/kg. Yttrium has the largest oxide-to-metal price spread of any tracked rare earth: oxide trades at single-digit dollars per kilogram in industrial quantities, while gram-scale metal exceeds $9,000/kg.
| Date | Form | Purity | USD/kg | Seller | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-15 | Oxide | 99.99% (4N) | $10 | Stanford Advanced Materials | US |
| 2026-03-15 | Oxide | 99.99% (4N) | $7 | Edgetech Industries | CN |
| 2026-03-15 | Oxide | 99.99% (4N) | $8 | ALB Materials | CN |
| 2026-04-04 | Metal | 99.95% | $9450 | snaucke-elements (eBay) | NL |
| 2026-04-04 | Metal | 99.95% | $9100 | novaelements (eBay) | IT |
Important Notes
Export controls in force
Yttrium is one of the seven medium and heavy rare earths controlled under MOFCOM/GAC Announcement No. 18/2025 [2]. Reported United States yttrium imports fell more than 90% in the first eight months after these controls took effect.
Largest retail-to-bulk spread
Yttrium oxide bulk benchmarks sit near $7–$10/kg, while gram-scale metal samples on eBay/Alibaba exceed $9,000/kg. The spread reflects the cost of metallisation, hand-portioning, and Western retail margin — not material scarcity.
YBCO superconductor demand wildcard
Fusion energy programmes (Commonwealth Fusion, Tokamak Energy) and HTS power cable rollouts could materially shift Y demand from the bulk-oxide ceramic market into a high-purity, high-margin segment over 2026–2030.
Physical Properties [1]
Z: 39 · Ar: 88.906 u · ρ: 4.472 g/cm3 · Tm: 1,526 °C · Tb: 3,336 °CCrystal: hcp · Config: [Kr]4d15s2 · Ox. states: +3
References
- Wolfram Alpha, “Yttrium element.” wolframalpha.com.
- Ministry of Commerce / General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China, Announcement No. 18 of 2025, “Export Control of Medium and Heavy Rare Earth Related Items,” 4 April 2025.
- MOFCOM Announcements No. 70 and No. 72 of 2025 (suspension orders), 7–9 November 2025.
- United States Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025: Yttrium, January 2025.