Europe faces a growing risk of losing ground to China in the supply of gallium, a critical metal used in high-tech industries, despite being positioned to produce enough to meet its own demand next year, according to Evangelos Mytilineos, chair of the Greece-based company Metlen. The warning underscores broader concerns about Europe’s competitiveness in securing key minerals essential for advanced technologies.
Gallium is a vital component in military systems—including radars, missile seekers, satellites, and radio communications—as well as in semiconductor manufacturing, driving sectors linked to artificial intelligence innovation. While Metlen plans to produce around 50 tonnes annually, sufficient to cover Europe's full yearly requirements, Mytilineos highlighted a reluctance among European companies to purchase the metal at higher prices. Instead, buyers have shown a preference for lower-cost imports from China.
“If we don’t have any well-structured European demand on the table,” Mytilineos cautioned, “then the metal would be sold outside Europe” to markets such as the United States and Japan. Approximately one-quarter of Metlen’s planned output has already been secured by an unnamed US technology firm, with additional non-European deals reportedly underway.
This situation reflects a wider pattern observed by officials and industry experts, who have voiced concerns about Europe lagging behind global competitors in securing a broader range of critical minerals, including rare earth elements and lithium. Henry Sanderson of the price reporting agency Fastmarkets noted that significant investment in mineral projects is underway in the US, while Europe has yet to mobilize comparable funding.
Jack Bedder, founder of the minerals research group Project Blue, emphasized that Japan has been actively enhancing its supply chains for critical materials over many years. The recent surge in US government intervention includes billions of dollars in funding, with Washington sometimes taking equity stakes in mining ventures to bolster supply security.
China currently dominates much of the gallium market, and its government has been accused of leveraging its control to restrict exports amid ongoing trade tensions with the US. These export controls have increased prices and tightened supply chains, with certain metals now accessible only through licensing arrangements.
In response, several non-Chinese firms are accelerating efforts to develop new gallium sources. Metlen faces competition from companies such as Alcoa, whose Australian project has backing from multiple Western governments.
Mytilineos criticized the lack of European buyers despite pressure from the European Union to channel more material to the region. Metlen’s production costs stand below $300 per kilogram, while current European market prices exceed $3,000 per kilogram. Non-Chinese producers have long complained that they cannot compete with Chinese suppliers, who benefit from lower production costs and state support.
Addressing these challenges, Mytilineos said Metlen is working intensively to reduce its costs to $100 per kilogram, which would enhance its competitiveness against Chinese producers. “We’re not afraid of the Chinese—let them flood the market. It will kill everyone, not us,” he said, expressing confidence in the company’s ability to withstand competitive pressure.