Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Indium: Overview

Why almost every screen you touch needs indium

What this tab covers What the commodity is used for, why, in what volumes and with what alternatives, and its chain from mine or field to end user. Also the latest price moves, top recent news, three things to know, and buttons into each tab.

Key uses

UseShareAnnual volumeWhy this commodityAlternatives
Indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent conductive coatings for LCD and OLED displays and touch screens60%about 660 t In a yearbasis ITO is one of very few materials that is both transparent and electrically conductive, and it can be sputtered as a thin, even film over large glass panels. That made it the standard electrode in every LCD and most touch screens. Display makers in China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan run sputtering lines built around ITO targets, so switching costs are high. EU CRM 2023; USGS MCS 2026 (substitutes) Silver or copper nanowires (touch screens)
PEDOT conductive polymer (flexible displays, OLEDs)
Antimony tin oxide and zinc oxide coatings
Graphene and carbon nanotube films
Alloys and compounds, including low-melting alloys and indium compoundsn/a n/a basis Indium lowers melting points and stays soft and ductile at very low temperatures, so it is used in fusible alloys, cryogenic seals and dental alloys. Gallium-indium-tin alloy (galinstan) replaces mercury in thermometers. EU CRM 2023; USGS MCS 2026 Bismuth-based low-melting alloys
Hafnium in nuclear control rods
Semiconductors and LEDs: indium phosphide lasers and photodetectors for fibre optics, InGaN LEDsn/a n/a basis Indium phosphide lasers and receivers work at the wavelengths where optical fibre loses least signal, so they sit in 5G networks and AI data-centre links. USGS expects AI to raise demand for InP chips. Indium gallium nitride is the light-emitting layer in blue and white LEDs. USGS MCS 2026; EU CRM 2023 Silicon photonics (some data-centre links)
Gallium arsenide lasers at shorter wavelengths
Solders and thermal interface materialsn/a n/a basis Indium solders wet glass and ceramics, resist thermal fatigue and stay compliant, so they bond chips in high-reliability electronics. Pure indium sheet is a high-conductivity thermal pad between processors and heat sinks in data centres (USGS 2026). EU CRM 2023; USGS MCS 2026 Tin-silver-copper solders
Silver-filled thermal pastes and graphite pads
Alkaline batteries (anti-corrosion additive) and thin-film solar (CIGS)n/a n/a basis Small indium additions to zinc anodes replaced mercury in alkaline batteries by suppressing gas formation. Copper indium gallium selenide films absorb sunlight in a layer a few microns thick, but crystalline silicon has taken most of the solar market. EU CRM 2023; USGS MCS 2026 Other zinc-anode inhibitors (bismuth)
Crystalline silicon and cadmium telluride (solar)
Only the ITO share (60%) is a global figure (EU CRM 2023). Other shares quoted are for EU consumption, where there is no ITO maker, so they overstate those uses relative to the world. In 2008 flat-panel displays took more than 50% of primary output (USGS Circular 1365).

From mine to user

  1. 1. Zinc ore mining Indium occurs in sphalerite at under 1 to 100 parts per million (USGS 2026). It is not paid for at most mines.
  2. 2. Zinc smelting Indium reports to leach residues, fumes and drosses at zinc and lead smelters. Only smelters with recovery circuits capture it; many do not.
  3. 3. Crude indium Residues are leached and indium extracted by solvent extraction, then cemented to crude metal of about 99%.
  4. 4. Refining to 4N-6N Electrorefining gives 99.99% or better metal, the traded grade. World refinery output was about 1,100 t in 2025 against capacity of 1,700 t (USGS).
  5. 5. ITO targets and compounds Metal is oxidised with tin and pressed into sputtering targets, or made into InP crystals, solders and alloys.
  6. 6. Display and device makers Panel makers in China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan sputter ITO onto glass. Much of the target material does not land on the glass.
  7. 7. Recycling of ITO scrap Spent targets and chamber scrap are returned to refiners, mainly in Japan and Korea (USGS 2026); end-of-life recycling is only about 1% (EU CRM 2023).

Price movement snapshot 2026-10-25

No public daily or monthly benchmark price for this commodity in the datasets used.

World production 1,020 tonnes, 2024 Largest producer China 67.45% of world

Three things to know

  • Primary indium output rose 1,675% between 1975 and 2012, while its zinc host grew only 231% (Nassar et al.).
  • The United States imported about 220 t of indium in 2025, equal to its entire estimated consumption.
  • China's unwrought indium exports fell 72% year on year to September 2025 after new restrictions (USGS, citing Asian Metal).

Top recent news snapshot 2026-10-25, last 30 days

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