Yunnan Germanium Output Falls as Downstream Wafer Demand Absorbs Metal

Germanium

Yunnan Germanium output of raw material-grade germanium available for external sales fell in 2025 as the company redirected more metal into internal downstream production. The shift reflects stronger demand from photovoltaic wafers, optical fibre materials and compound semiconductor products.

Yunnan Germanium output for external raw material-grade germanium sales fell by 13% to 29.7t metal equivalent. The figure excludes 68.95t used for internal consumption and third-party processing.

Yunnan Germanium output therefore signals a change in material allocation rather than simple production weakness. More germanium units are being retained inside the company’s higher-value product chain instead of being sold as raw material.

Revenue rose by 38% to 1.07bn yuan, supported by higher prices for raw germanium, optical fibre materials, PV germanium products, infrared products and semiconductor products.

PV and Optical Fibre Demand Pull Germanium Into Internal Processing

Yunnan Germanium nearly doubled production of 4-6 inch PV-grade germanium wafers in 2025. Output rose to 909,000 pieces from 491,400 pieces a year earlier.

This growth is strategically important because germanium wafers serve high-efficiency photovoltaic applications. Stronger wafer output means more raw germanium is being converted into higher-value products rather than sold into the merchant market.

Optical fibre materials also expanded. Output of optical fibre-grade germanium tetrachloride rose to 39.8t from 27t, showing stronger demand from communications infrastructure and optical transmission markets.

Infrared-grade germanium raw material output fell by 28% to 4.77t metal equivalent. However, production of infrared lenses and optical systems rose sharply to 4,717 sets from 1,828 sets.

That mix shows deeper downstream processing. The company reduced some raw infrared material output but increased finished optical systems, capturing more value further along the chain.

For germanium buyers, the key issue is external availability. When China’s largest germanium producer consumes more material internally, less raw metal is available for third-party customers.

Indium Phosphide Expansion Strengthens Compound Semiconductor Push

Yunnan Germanium also increased indium phosphide wafer output in 2025. Production of 2-4 inch InP wafers rose by 55% to 100,100 pieces.

In contrast, gallium arsenide wafer production declined by 13% to 76,300 pieces. This shows a shift in compound semiconductor emphasis toward InP, where demand is rising from advanced optical and semiconductor applications.

The company plans to keep increasing PV-grade germanium wafer and indium phosphide wafer output in 2026. It also plans to reduce infrared product output.

Yunnan Germanium targets 73t metal equivalent of raw material-grade germanium products in 2026, including internal use and third-party processing. It also plans to produce 1.45mn pieces of 4-6 inch equivalent PV-grade wafers and 180,000 pieces of 2-6 inch InP wafers.

The company also plans to produce 35t of optical fibre-grade germanium tetrachloride, 80,000 pieces of 3-6 inch GaAs wafers, 3t of infrared-grade germanium raw materials and 8,000 sets of infrared lenses and optical systems.

The planned 188.56mn yuan investment to expand high-quality InP single-crystal wafer capacity reinforces this strategy. Yunnan Germanium is moving from raw germanium supply toward integrated semiconductor and photonics material production.

The Metalnomist Commentary

Yunnan Germanium’s lower external metal output should not be read as weak demand. It shows that strategic germanium producers are capturing more value internally, tightening merchant supply while expanding into PV, optical fibre and InP wafer markets.