China’s looming gallium export controls leave automakers with a dilemma over whether they can continue to rely on a metal seen as a game changer for electric vehicles. But the move could also push them to explore alternatives, such as using gallium nitride chips in onboard chargers.
China accounts for a lot of the world’s production of gallium, along with germanium and arsenic. It has imposed new restrictions on those minerals’ exports, claiming they’re vital to its national security. While those claims may be valid, mineral experts say that restricting the sale of these metals will have little effect on EVs’ availability or prices in the short term.
But it could have a significant impact on the industry’s long-term plans. Gallium has a unique chemical structure allows it to be manipulated in various ways. Researchers have used the element to design adjustable electronic components and robotics.
Gallium is bright and silvery in its pure form and soft to the touch. It melts quickly in your hand and cools into a silvery puddle when you drop it on the floor. It displays a crystal structure similar to aluminum but has an orthorhombic shape instead of the more familiar hexagonal one. As it turns solid, gallium becomes brittle and looks like glass.
It can be made into various applications, including LEDs, which are now used in many consumer electronics devices. It can also be melted and pressed into thin films that create flexible screens for mobile phones. In addition, it can be shaped into ingots that are used in the manufacture of semiconductors. Its conductive properties also make it possible to use gallium for various medical applications, such as inductors that monitor heart or brain activity.
But the most exciting application of gallium is its ability to conduct electricity at high speeds. Its low thermal resistance means it can help EV batteries charge faster, carry more energy, or make battery packs smaller. It’s the critical ingredient in onboard chargers for several electric vehicle models from manufacturers such as Tesla and Renault.
Those companies have been facing tight supplies of chip components recently, with some slashing production to ensure the needed material is supplied. For example, the Chinese EV maker Xpeng posted a video on Weibo in late June that showed its supply chain team struggling to find gallium.
China’s new restrictions on gallium and germanium are expected to cause a delay in the development of the next generation of EVs. That will likely hurt the industry’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.
But despite China’s dominance, the new export controls aren’t a death knell for EVs. Other countries can produce gallium and germanium, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, Japan, and South Korea. And the technology used to make gallium nitride chips is relatively new and not accessible for companies to duplicate.
