28 October 2025
Scandium: small alloy additions with outsized aerospace value
Key insights from this briefing
What does scandium do when added to aluminium alloys?
Small scandium additions, typically around 0.1% to 0.5% in the briefing, can materially improve aluminium alloy strength and weldability. This enables lightweight, durable materials for demanding aerospace and automotive applications.
Why has scandium adoption remained limited despite its useful properties?
Scandium faces a circular supply problem: high prices and limited availability discourage large-scale adoption, while limited demand discourages investment in new production. More reliable supply could lower costs and broaden use in alloys and solid oxide fuel cells.
Excerpt from this briefing's Industry Insight
Scandium demonstrates how very small additions can create outsized material benefits. Adding fractions of a percent of scandium to aluminium can materially improve strength and weldability, producing lightweight alloys attractive to aerospace and advanced transport. Scandium is also used in solid-oxide fuel cells to improve efficiency and operating life. The market faces a circular constraint: high prices and limited supply discourage broad adoption, while limited demand makes new production harder to finance. More reliable supply could therefore unlock entirely new applications.
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