Cer • Ce • Atomic Number 58
Beryllium
Beryllium is a very hard and brittle lightweight metal. It is three times lighter than aluminum and six times stronger than steel. The element is also characterized by its natural resistance to corrosion, excellent electrical conductivity, and high heat capacity.
Due to these properties, beryllium is of great interest to the aerospace and defense industries. Despite its unique characteristics, beryllium is rarely used overall because of its high cost and toxicity.
In 2024, an estimated 360 tons of beryllium were mined worldwide. By far the most important producer is the USA, which also holds 60 percent of the world’s known reserves. Leading beryllium producers include Materion. Other mining countries are China, Mozambique, and Nigeria.
In the EU, USA, China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia, beryllium is considered a critical or strategic raw material.
These metals are very commonly used in industry and are therefore traded as futures contracts on the LME (London Metal Exchange).
The element beryllium was discovered in 1798 by the French chemist Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin in the minerals beryl and emerald. In the 1920s, copper-beryllium alloys were first used in German telephone switchboard relays.
The first commercially successful process for producing pure beryllium was developed in 1932, initially used in medical X-ray windows.
Beryllium oxide ceramics were employed in insulating circuits of radio tubes.
In the 1940s, the element found its place in the defense industry: in high-precision gyroscopic navigation and targeting instruments for the navy and air force, and in nuclear weapons as a neutron moderator.
After World War II, demand for beryllium increased for use in telecommunications technologies, the automotive industry, and aerospace. A heat shield made of beryllium was onboard the Mercury space capsule during the first manned space flight in 1961.
In the 1990s, new beryllium materials such as aluminum-beryllium metal matrix composites were developed. The applications of beryllium increasingly shifted from defense, aerospace, and aviation toward automotive electronics, IT, and energy production.
Nickel-beryllium alloys in crash sensors improve the functionality of life-saving airbags.
Worldwide consumption of beryllium remains low. In 2024, an estimated 360 tons were produced. Of this, 21 percent is used in defense, aerospace, and aviation, 20 percent in industrial components, and 15 percent in the automotive industry. In the EU, beryllium is classified as a critical raw material.
The majority of globally produced beryllium (about 80 percent) is used in copper alloys. The reliability of copper-beryllium alloys enables high-performance, electrically conductive connections for critical systems such as aircraft and medical electronics, airbag and anti-lock braking systems in vehicles, as well as fire suppression systems. In mobile phones and electronic devices, beryllium extends the device lifespan.
As a pure metal, beryllium is used in medical X-ray windows and in highly precise navigation and targeting systems for the military.
Beryllium ceramics are employed in photovoltaic cells, significantly increasing their efficiency.
Beryllium also plays a role in nuclear research and power generation, serving both as a neutron moderator in nuclear power plants and as a neutron source. The experimental fusion reactor ITER in southern France is lined with beryllium plates that act as a protective layer. Beryllium is also essential for nuclear weapons production. Therefore, the United States enforces strict export controls on beryllium.
Beryllium-containing alloys, in their solid form as found in end products, pose no special health risks. However, certain processing methods generate dust particles that, if inhaled, can cause serious lung diseases.
There are about 30 known minerals containing beryllium. For economic mining, beryl and bertrandite are relevant. Beryl contains between three and five percent beryllium but is harder than bertrandite, which complicates refining. Therefore, most beryllium mines today exploit bertrandite deposits despite their lower beryllium content (0,3–1,5 percent).
More than half of the world’s beryllium production comes from the USA. The largest deposit is located in the state of Utah and is operated by Materion. The proven and probable bertrandite reserves in Utah total approximately 19,000 tons of beryllium.
Worldwide known beryllium reserves are estimated at over 100,000 tons, with 60 percent located in the USA. The largest deposits in the USA are found at Spor Mountain in Utah, McCullough Butte in Nevada, Black Hills in South Dakota, Sierra Blanca in Texas, Seward Peninsula in Alaska, and Gold Hill in Utah.
Beryllium production in the USA includes mining, ore processing, manufacturing, distribution, and recycling of beryllium-containing products. Japan does not mine beryllium ores but imports them for its refineries. In Kazakhstan, beryllium is refined from large stockpiles dating back to the Soviet era.
China has significantly increased its beryllium production in recent years, more than tripling it between 2015 and 2021. Given its strategic importance for defense and the military, China established a "Strategic Alliance for Technological Innovation in the Chinese Beryllium Industry" in 2020.
Since beryllium is expensive compared to other materials, it is used in applications where its properties are critical. In some cases, certain metal matrix or organic composites, high-strength aluminum alloys, pyrolytic graphite, silicon carbide, steel, or titanium can replace beryllium metal or beryllium composites.
Copper alloys with nickel and silicon, tin, titanium, or other alloying elements, or phosphor bronze alloys (copper-tin-phosphorus) can substitute for beryllium-copper alloys, although this may result in significant performance reductions.
Aluminum nitride or boron nitride can replace beryllium oxide.
Critical and Strategic Metals
