Tsinghua University researchers achieved a 76-fold efficiency gain in rare earth light emission, signaling China's push to convert mineral dominance into
Element Profile
Europium
Symbol
Eu
Atomic number
63
Group
Light rare earth
Properties
Density
5.24 g/cm³
Melting point
822 °C
Boiling point
1529 °C
Crustal abundance
2.0 ppm
Supply Risk
Supply risk
Medium
Geological scarcity
High
Primary economic driver
Red and blue phosphors (lighting and displays)
Overview
About Europium
Europium (Eu, atomic number 63) is a soft, silvery rare earth metal best known for the red light it gives off in phosphors. For decades it supplied the red in color television screens and fluorescent lamps, and it still marks euro banknotes so that forgeries can be spotted under ultraviolet light. LED lighting has cut the amount the world needs. China added europium to its export-control list in October 2025, then suspended that rule in November before it took effect.
What europium is
Europium is a lanthanide and, under the split REEx uses, one of the light rare earth elements. The U.S. Geological Survey also groups it with the light rare earths in Professional Paper 1802-O. Other groupings place it with the heavies. China's October 2025 export rule listed it among the "medium and heavy" rare earths, and Lynas Rare Earths lists it among possible additional heavy rare earth products. Like the other rare earths, it occurs mixed with its chemical neighbors and must be separated from them before industry can use it.
The physical properties listed on this page are from the Royal Society of Chemistry periodic table. Europium tarnishes quickly in air and reacts with water, according to the RSC. Los Alamos National Laboratory describes it as the most reactive of the rare earth elements. Unlike most rare earths, europium readily forms compounds in the +2 state as well as the usual +3. The +2 state matters for both its phosphors and its separation from the other rare earths.
Discovery and name
French chemist Eugène-Anatole Demarçay isolated europium in 1901 by separating it from samarium, according to the RSC and LANL. He named it after Europe.
Why phosphors depend on europium's red
Europium's first big market was color television. Starting around 1965, europium-doped phosphors produced the red in cathode-ray tube screens, according to a 2018 review by Binnemans and colleagues in the Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy. In the mid-1960s and early 1970s, nearly all of the world's europium came from the bastnaesite ore at Mountain Pass, California. The review says the mine was operated mainly for europium in that period.
Fluorescent lamps became the next market. From the mid-1970s, fluorescent lamps switched to blends of three rare earth phosphors. In most blends, europium supplied two of the three: a red phosphor made from yttrium oxide doped with europium, and a blue phosphor that uses europium in its +2 state. Binnemans and Jones called the red yttrium-europium phosphor by far the most important application of europium in 2015.
No other rare earth can do europium's job in a red lamp phosphor. Europium gives off light in a narrow line in the red part of the spectrum, according to a 2015 paper by Binnemans and Jones.
How LEDs and new screens cut demand
Both of europium's big markets shrank. Cathode-ray tube production ended shortly after 2000. Fluorescent lamps then lost ground to LEDs, mainly because of concerns over the mercury each lamp contains. Most white LEDs combine a blue LED with a yellow cerium-doped phosphor that contains no europium, according to the 2018 review. Some LEDs still use europium phosphors, and Solvay said on its website, as of October 2026, that europium remains critical for phosphors in LED lighting and display screens.
Newer screens offer no rebound. Binnemans and Jones noted in 2015 that OLED screens contain no rare earths at all. The 2018 review expected a slight oversupply of europium as the lamp phosphor market shrank.
Other uses
- Banknote security. Europium compounds glow red under ultraviolet light, which helps banks tell real euro banknotes from forgeries (RSC, LANL).
- Nuclear control rods. Europium absorbs neutrons well, so it is used in some reactor control rods (RSC). The 2018 review calls this a minor application.
- Radiation detection. Europium-doped strontium iodide crystals detect gamma rays. Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers called the material ideal for handheld radioisotope identification devices in 2017.
- Medical diagnostics. Europium's long-lived glow is used in some laboratory immunoassays, according to the 2018 review. REEx has reported on europium biosensors for heart-attack markers, most of which were still pre-clinical or early translational as of September 2025.
- Optical fibers and lasers. Europium is a common dopant for optical fibers (USGS). Europium-doped plastic has been used as a laser material (RSC).
Where europium comes from
Europium is mined mainly from monazite and bastnaesite, along with the other rare earths in those ores (RSC). Europium makes up about 2 parts per million of Earth's crust on average. Its share of rare earth ores is lower than that abundance would predict, according to the 2018 review. In molten rock, feldspar takes up europium in its +2 state, according to USGS. That leaves europium depleted in many of the magmas where other rare earths build up. Geologists call this the europium anomaly. Mountain Pass bastnaesite contains only about 0.1% europium, according to Binnemans and colleagues. A mine therefore yields europium as a small byproduct of the more plentiful rare earths.
The same +2 state helps at the separation stage. Reducing europium from +3 to +2 makes it possible to pull it selectively out of a rare earth mixture, according to Binnemans and Jones. China mined about 270,000 of the world's 390,000 metric tons of rare earth oxide in 2025, according to USGS. Other producers that year included the United States, Burma, Australia, Brazil and India.
Export controls and supply risk
Europium was not on the list of seven rare earths China placed under export licensing in April 2025, according to USGS. On October 9, 2025, China's Ministry of Commerce added europium, holmium, erbium, thulium and ytterbium in Announcement No. 57, according to Pillsbury. The rule covered their metals, alloys, oxides, compounds and mixtures, according to CIRS. On November 7, 2025, the day before the rule was due to take effect, China suspended it under MOFCOM Announcement No. 70. The suspension was set to end on November 10, 2026. As of early October 2026, China had not announced a formal extension.
According to an October 2025 IEA analysis, China held about 91% of separation and refining of the magnet rare earths, a group that does not include europium. USGS import data give a broader view of the rare earth supply chain. China supplied 71% of U.S. imports of rare earth compounds and metals in 2021–24.
Supply outside China (as of October 2026)
Lynas Rare Earths already separates rare earths in Malaysia. In October 2025 it announced a new heavy rare earth separation facility there. Its planned initial flowsheet covers samarium, gadolinium, dysprosium, terbium, yttrium and lutetium, according to the company's ASX announcement. Lynas said it would consider adding europium, holmium, ytterbium and erbium if commercial agreements justify the investment. REEx found no later announcement of separated europium output from Lynas as of October 2026.
Recycling
The RSC puts europium's recycling rate below 10%. USGS reported that limited quantities of rare earths were recovered from fluorescent lamps, batteries and magnets in 2025. In France, Rhodia planned to recycle rare earths from low-energy light bulbs. Its recycling plants at La Rochelle and Saint-Fons were operating by the end of 2012, according to USGS. REEx could not confirm whether the lamp recycling lines still run. The 2018 review expected europium recovered from old lamps and cathode-ray tubes to add to supply as demand fell.
What drives europium demand and supply
Demand for europium depends mostly on phosphors, with security inks and specialist uses well behind. Supply follows mining for the more plentiful rare earths, because europium comes out of the same ore as a small byproduct. Near-term supply also depends on how China handles the October 2025 controls and on whether any producer outside China adds europium to its product list.
Frequently asked questions
What is europium used for?
Mainly in phosphors, where it produces red light and some blue light in fluorescent lamps, some LEDs and older television screens. It also marks euro banknotes, which glow red under ultraviolet light. Smaller uses include nuclear control rods, radiation detectors, medical tests and optical fibers.
Why can't another rare earth replace europium in red phosphors?
Europium gives off light in a narrow line in the red part of the spectrum, and no other rare earth does the same. In red lamp phosphors, substituting another rare earth is not an option.
Is europium a light or heavy rare earth?
REEx and the U.S. Geological Survey group europium with the light rare earths. Some other groupings place it with the heavies, including China's 2025 export rule, which listed it among the medium and heavy rare earths.
Does China restrict europium exports?
China added europium to its export-control list in October 2025 under Announcement No. 57, then suspended that rule in November 2025 before it took effect. The suspension was set to end on November 10, 2026, and China had not announced a formal extension as of early October 2026.
Why has demand for europium fallen?
Its two biggest markets shrank. Cathode-ray tube televisions disappeared, and LEDs replaced fluorescent lamps. Most white LEDs use a cerium-based phosphor that contains no europium.
Primary Uses
- Red and blue phosphors for fluorescent lamps, some LEDs and displays
- Security inks in euro banknotes
- Nuclear reactor control rods
- Radiation detectors (europium-doped strontium iodide)
- Luminescent labels in medical immunoassays
- Optical fiber dopant and laser materials
Producing Projects
Companies
Found in Products
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