Value chain · CLM-1317
In plain terms
There is no reliable world total for germanium output, the material many space solar cells are built on, and its price roughly doubled in 2025.
The claim as recorded
The USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries of February 2026 give no world production figure for germanium, stating that "Because most producers do not publicly report germanium production, global production data were limited"; they record germanium wafers produced in the United States "mostly for solar cells used in satellites" and an estimated 2025 average price for germanium metal of 4,100 USD per kg, against 1,991 in 2024.
Evidence behind this: T1: the US Geological Survey's annual commodity summary, a government statistical publication.
Scope and limits
The absence of a world figure is the agency's statement, not a finding that supply is small; the price is a US-reported annual average with 2025 estimated.
What it assumes
No assumptions are recorded against this claim.
Where it comes from
PDF p.2, World Refinery Production and Reserves: the quoted sentence. PDF p.1: a Utah company "produced germanium wafers mostly for solar cells used in satellites"; Salient Statistics, germanium metal annual average price 1,991 (2024) and 4,100 (2025e) dollars per kilogram.
Basis: kg of germanium content; USD per kg
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-020 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-1317
CLM-1317, Energy Aperture, as of 2026-02.