Rubidium, as a rare alkali metal element, is indispensable in the development of strategic emerging industries such as new energy, quantum technology, and medical health, and is known as "the next rare earth and lithium". Based on the latest technology and market data forecasts, perovskite photovoltaics and vehicle-mounted solid-state batteries are the core drivers of the growth in demand for rubidium salts. From 2025 to 2030, the global demand for rubidium salts will surge from approximately 280 tons to 4,000-4,500 tons, with a compound annual growth rate of 60%-70%. This explosive growth is driven by multiple factors including technological breakthroughs, policy support, and industrial upgrading.

Current Status and Demand Analysis of Rubidium Salt in Core Application Fields

The application of rubidium salts has formed a pattern of coordinated development between traditional and emerging fields. Emerging fields have become the core of demand through technological breakthroughs, while traditional fields provide support through scenario expansion. The differentiated growth in various fields has jointly driven the rapid development of the industry.

Perovskite photovoltaics represent the primary growth driver for rubidium salt demand and are currently in a critical stage of transitioning from laboratory research to industrialization. Rubidium doping is a core technology for improving battery efficiency and stability. The latest research results show that through lattice strain technology, rubidium ions have been successfully and stably introduced into perovskite films, achieving a high open-circuit voltage of 1.30 volts. This has effectively solved the phase separation problem, laying the foundation for industrialization. At the industrial level, GCL Photovoltaics put into operation the world's first 1 GW mass production line by the end of 2024, and another 2 GW production line in June 2025. Xinnax Photoelectric has built the world's first 100-megawatt-level production line with a module yield rate exceeding 98.5%. According to TrendForce's prediction, the global perovskite production capacity is expected to reach 70 GW to 100 GW by 2030. China has more than 15 production lines of 100-megawatt level or above that have been put into operation or are under construction, accounting for more than 60% of the global production capacity. In terms of demand, 22 tons of cesium-rubidium salts are required to produce 1 GW of modules. Based on this calculation, the demand for rubidium salts in this field will be approximately 38.5 tons in 2025 and is expected to surge to 1,550 tons by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate as high as 109%.

Vehicle-mounted solid-state batteries are an important emerging growth driver for rubidium salts. As a core direction of next-generation power batteries, solid-state batteries are in a period of industrialization transition, among which sulfide electrolytes have become a key route due to their high ionic conductivity. Studies have shown that adding 0.5~2wt% of rubidium sulfide or rubidium chloride can increase the ionic conductivity of the electrolyte by 20%~30%; the nano-scale rubidium trioxide coating can effectively improve interface stability, and related technologies have been applied to Sunwoda's 500 Wh/kg solid-state battery samples. In terms of industrial layout, CATL has set up a 1,000-person R&D team, with its 60Ah cells entering the testing phase, and plans to mass-produce 500 Wh/kg solid-state batteries in 2026; enterprises such as BYD and China Innovation Aviation are also accelerating their layout. Demand estimates show that each GWh of sulfide solid-state batteries requires about 1.2 tons of rubidium salts, and it is predicted that the demand will grow to 200~300 tons by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate of about 62%.

Quantum computing is a frontier highland for the application of rubidium salts and is in a stage of advancing from basic research to practical use. Rubidium-87 atoms are ideal carriers for neutral atom qubits. Through laser cooling and optical trap confinement, they realize quantum gate operations using Rydberg interactions, featuring good scalability. In 2025, a U.S. quantum computing company in Boston achieved quantum simulation with 256 atoms, while Chinese teams also successfully built atomic quantum computing systems and set a world record with an array of 2024 defect-free atoms. In terms of demand, the demand for high-purity rubidium salts in quantum computing is expected to grow to 20-30 tons by 2030. Although the absolute quantity is not large, the requirement for material purity is extremely high, which strongly promotes the high-end development of the rubidium salt industry.

Atomic clocks and commercial aerospace are the traditional pillar fields for rubidium salts. Rubidium atomic clocks, with their characteristics of compactness, economy, and reliability, are widely used in fields such as navigation satellites and 5G/6G network synchronization. The rise of commercial aerospace is driving an explosion in demand. For example, China Satellite Network Engineering plans to launch about 13,000 low-orbit satellites, each of which needs to be equipped with 2 to 3 rubidium atomic clocks, creating a market scale of over 5 billion yuan. In 2025, 5G base station synchronization and low-orbit satellite applications accounted for 28.5% and 22.3% of the rubidium atomic clock market share respectively. In terms of demand, it is expected that the global demand for rubidium salts in this field will grow significantly to 1,175-1,410 tons by 2030, with the growth mainly driven by the number of satellite launches. China has formed a complete industrial chain in this field.

Medical and health care is a field with steady growth in the application of rubidium salts, with the core application being nuclear medicine diagnosis. The radioactive isotope rubidium-82 is used in myocardial perfusion PET-CT imaging, which has the advantages of high resolution, fast imaging, and low radiation. The North American market has an annual growth rate of 34%. Due to the half-life of rubidium-82 being only 75 seconds, it needs to be prepared on-site, which places high requirements on the stable supply of rubidium salts. It is predicted that the demand for rubidium salts in the medical field will grow to 375-450 tons by 2030, driven by population aging, the increasing demand for tumor diagnosis, and the popularization of PET-CT.

Catalysis and chemical engineering are traditional advantageous fields for rubidium salts. As a catalytic promoter, rubidium can enhance the activity, selectivity, and lifespan of catalysts. In the methanol-to-olefins (MTO) reaction, rubidium promoters increase the yield of ethylene/propylene. The catalyst consumption of the MTO units of Nanjing Huasheng and Shandong Yangmei Hengtong is much lower than the designed expectation. In the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide to methanol, rubidium improves the efficiency of catalyst adsorption and activation of carbon dioxide, which meets the needs of green development. The demand for rubidium salts in the catalytic field has an annual growth rate of over 15%, with China and Japan being the main consuming countries, and Japan accounting for 90% of the consumption. Demand forecast: It is expected to reach 500-600 tons by 2030, with growth coming from the upgrading of chemical processes, the demand for new energy catalysis, and the promotion of environmental protection policies.

Other application fields supplement the demand for rubidium salts. In the field of special glass and ceramics, rubidium titanate is used in the manufacture of 5G filters. With the development of 5G/6G networks, the demand is expected to reach 120-150 tons by 2030. Rubidium is also used in modifying special optical glass and ceramics to improve their performance. In the optoelectronics field, rubidium compounds are used in the manufacture of photocathodes, photomultiplier tubes, etc., and the demand is expected to be 90-120 tons by 2030. In the military industry, it is used in atomic clocks, optoelectronic equipment, etc., with a steady growth in demand. In addition, rubidium salts have potential in fuel cells, energy storage, and environmental protection fields. The total demand in other fields is expected to be 210-270 tons by 2030, accounting for 8%-9% of the total demand.

Current Status of Rubidium Supply Chain and Overall Demand Forecast for 2025-2030

Global rubidium resources are concentrated in China, Canada, Zimbabwe and other countries. China is the world's most resource-rich and core producing country of rubidium. As of December 2025, China has built 5 core rubidium production lines with a total capacity of about 3,000 tons per year (rubidium salt equivalent). Jiangxi accounts for 90% of the capacity. Jiangxi Jinde Lithium (1,800 tons/year) and Jiangxi Dongpeng New Materials (800 tons/year) are core enterprises with globally leading technologies. Sinomine Resource Group controls the world's largest pollucite mine, forming a closed loop of "resources + technology + production capacity" and establishing China's leading position in the industry.

Comprehensive estimates show that the global demand for rubidium salts will surge from approximately 280 tons in 2025 to 4,000-4,500 tons by 2030, representing a 15-fold increase over five years with a compound annual growth rate of 60%-70%. The demand structure will undergo a significant transformation: in 2025, traditional fields (atomic clocks, catalysis) will account for 66% of the demand, which will drop to 45% by 2030; the proportion of emerging fields will rise from 20% to over 60%, among which perovskite photovoltaics will account for 52% in 2030, becoming the largest source of demand.

The core driving factors behind the surge in demand include: technological breakthroughs, such as key technological advancements in perovskite batteries, solid-state batteries, and quantum computing, which expand the application scenarios of rubidium salts and increase demand; policy support, as various countries support strategic emerging industries such as new energy, quantum technology, and healthcare, accelerating the industrialization of related technologies; cost reduction, as the large-scale production of rubidium salts and downstream products reduces costs and stimulates market demand; and application expansion, as rubidium salts develop from a single application to diversification, forming a combined force for growth.

The Strategic Value and Development Prospect of the Rubidium Industry

Rubidium has both the properties of rare earths and lithium, covering key fields such as strategic infrastructure, new energy, and cutting-edge technology, and is a "cross-upgrade" track for both. From 2025 to 2030, the global demand for rubidium will grow at a compound annual rate of about 60%, showing huge growth potential. China has dominant advantages in technology, resources and production capacity, forming a complete industrial chain closed loop. It is expected to replicate the successful models of rare earth pricing power and lithium production capacity expansion, and become the next strategic metal highland.

From 2025 to 2030, the global demand for rubidium salts is set to surge, and the transformation of their application structure toward emerging fields is unstoppable. Supply bottlenecks remain the main challenge for industrial development. China has gained industrial leadership, and driven by the new energy and quantum technology revolutions, the rubidium salt industry will enter a golden period of development, achieving a leap from a "niche metal" to a "strategic core". Despite issues such as resource scarcity and insufficient high-end production capacity, with technological progress, policy support, and industrial collaboration, these challenges will gradually ease. The rubidium metal industry will achieve healthy and sustainable development, providing support for scientific and technological progress and industrial upgrading.

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