Scandium Price Today: Metal Benchmark & Market Outlook

Last updated: 3 September 2026 · Updated monthly · Source: Shanghai Metals Market (SMM)

The scandium price stands at $3,087.59 per kilogram for scandium metal on the Shanghai Metals Market (SMM) industrial benchmark as of 3 September 2026, down 7.36% from $3,333.04/kg at the August benchmark, with the VAT-excluded, delivered-to-works China price ranging from $3,021.90 to $3,153.28/kg intraday on 3 September. Scandium commands one of the highest per-kilogram prices of any commercially traded rare earth — a direct consequence of having no dedicated mines, inelastic byproduct supply, and a global production base estimated at 40 tonnes per year against demand running significantly ahead of that figure.

Scandium sits in Group 3 of the periodic table alongside yttrium and is classified as a rare earth element by convention rather than chemistry. It is recovered exclusively as a byproduct of titanium, uranium, cobalt, and nickel laterite processing — meaning total global supply is determined by the production economics of entirely different commodity markets. For background on scandium’s properties and end-uses, see the scandium overview.

Current Scandium Price

The scandium price market is more fragmented than any other rare earth — no liquid exchange contract exists, and pricing varies substantially by form, purity, and supply chain tier. The SMM metal benchmark is the most reliable industrial reference. Scandium oxide, the primary chemical intermediate, trades at a substantial discount to the metal, reflecting conversion costs. High-purity metal and the aluminium-scandium master alloy used directly in alloy production each command their own SMM-tracked benchmarks.

The oxide-to-metal conversion premium reflects the technically demanding reduction process: scandium oxide must first be converted to scandium fluoride, then reduced using calcium metal under controlled atmospheric conditions. This multi-step process at modest production volumes sustains a persistent gap between oxide and metal pricing that does not compress at current market scale. The aluminium-scandium master alloy — the form actually purchased by most aerospace and defence alloy producers — trades far below pure metal prices because it is a dilute product (typically around 2% scandium by weight in an aluminium carrier), not a reflection of scandium’s underlying value.

Scandium Price History

Scandium has no long-run published price series comparable to the magnet rare earths. The absence of a standardised benchmark exchange and the element’s byproduct-only supply structure mean that price discovery has historically been opaque, with significant variation between reported trade tiers. The figures below reflect the broad trajectory of industrial-grade metal and oxide pricing.

What Is Driving Scandium Prices

Scandium demand is concentrated in two end-uses with structurally different price sensitivities. Aluminium-scandium alloys — where scandium additions of 0.1–0.5% by weight dramatically improve strength, weldability, and corrosion resistance — are the primary volume application, used in aerospace structural components, sports equipment, and increasingly in defence platforms. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are the second major application, where scandium-stabilised zirconia electrolytes outperform yttrium-stabilised alternatives in operating efficiency at lower temperatures.

Supply is the dominant price variable. Global scandium production is estimated at approximately 15–40 tonnes per year depending on source — a range that itself reflects the opacity of byproduct accounting across titanium and nickel laterite operations. China is the largest producer, with significant recovery from titanium dioxide pigment processing and from nickel laterite leach circuits. Ukraine’s Zhovti Vody facility was historically a significant non-Chinese source; its status has been materially affected by the ongoing conflict. USGS Rare Earths Statistics notes that scandium supply data carries high uncertainty due to byproduct accounting practices across multiple primary metal industries.

China’s export licensing regime, which imposes a reported 4-month approval process for scandium compounds, creates a structural procurement risk for Western aerospace and fuel cell manufacturers that the SMM spot benchmark does not fully capture. Western buyers are increasingly pursuing long-term supply agreements rather than spot procurement to manage this lead time risk.

Western Scandium Supply Development

Western scandium supply development has attracted significant investment interest but limited commercial output. Australia’s Clean TeQ (now Sunrise Energy Metals) Sunrise nickel-cobalt-scandium project in New South Wales holds one of the largest non-Chinese scandium resources, with scandium recovery as a planned co-product. In North America, scandium recovery from aluminium smelting waste streams and titanium processing residues is under development at pilot scale by several companies, with US Department of Defense interest in securing a domestic supply chain for aerospace applications.

No Western scandium facility currently operates at commercial scale. The economics of dedicated scandium recovery remain marginal at current price levels for most deposit types — a constraint that will likely persist until either the aluminium alloy market scales substantially or SOFC deployment accelerates beyond current trajectories. For the broader western supply context, see the top rare earth producing countries and the China rare earth overview.

Scandium Price Outlook

The near-term scandium price outlook continued to soften in September, with the metal benchmark down 7.36% following August’s 11.1% decline — but this month’s move was uneven across the complex rather than uniform: oxide fell sharply (-21.33%), high-purity metal barely moved (-1.11%), and the aluminium-scandium master alloy actually ticked up (+0.52%). That divergence points to form-specific supply or contract dynamics rather than a broad repricing of scandium itself. The structural supply deficit — estimated demand of roughly 100+ tonnes per year against production of 15–40 tonnes, with the gap partly met by inventory drawdowns and recycling — continues to support prices well above the marginal cost of byproduct recovery despite the third straight month of declines. Aerospace demand for Al-Sc alloys is growing as additive manufacturing adoption in aerospace structural components expands the addressable market for scandium-enhanced aluminium powders.

Medium-term price risk is skewed to the upside. If SOFC deployment scales in line with hydrogen economy projections, scandium demand could increase several-fold from current levels with no corresponding supply response available in the near term. Western governments’ interest in securing scandium supply for defence applications adds a potential strategic procurement overlay that could tighten available commercial supply. The element shares with yttrium a Group 3 classification and byproduct supply structure, but scandium’s market is significantly tighter and more exposed to demand shocks.

Scandium vs Other Rare Earth Elements

Scandium occupies an unusual position within the rare earth elements complex. Unlike the lanthanide rare earths — where multiple elements share end-uses in magnets, phosphors, or catalysts — scandium has no lanthanide substitute in its primary applications. Aluminium alloy producers cannot replace scandium with another REE to achieve equivalent strength gains; SOFC manufacturers cannot substitute yttrium-stabilised zirconia and achieve equivalent electrolyte performance at lower operating temperatures.

This substitution resistance, combined with byproduct-only supply, makes scandium pricing less correlated with the broader rare earth market than most elements in the REE complex. Price movements in neodymium or dysprosium — driven by magnet demand — have no direct transmission to scandium markets. For broader context on rare earth price structures, see the top producing countries guide.

Scandium Price Per Gram, Ounce and Pound

The conversion table below is calculated from the SMM scandium metal industrial benchmark and updated monthly.

Scandium Price in GBP, EUR and Other Currencies

Currency conversions are calculated from the SMM industrial benchmark using approximate exchange rates at the time of publication and are for reference only. For live rates, consult your preferred currency provider.

Prices are calculated from the SMM industrial benchmark and updated monthly. For scandium oxide, high-purity metal, and master alloy prices, see the Current Scandium Price table above.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Prices are subject to change without notice.