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Iridium Price
The Iridium prices and rates shown reflect the standard retail rate for individual investors and is consistent with typical market pricing. For larger orders of iridium, whether for investment purposes or industrial use, please get in touch with us to receive a tailored quote. These quotes are obtained from an industry supplier by an API.
Current reference price: $338,397.77/kg
Key Price Drivers
PEM Electrolyser Demand
Preferred catalyst for green hydrogen production with no practical alternative
Byproduct Supply Ceiling
Only 7-8 tonnes produced annually as a platinum mining byproduct
Aerospace and Defence
Essential in missile components, jet ignitors, and satellite propulsion systems
No Viable Substitutes
Unique chemical stability in high-voltage acidic conditions cannot be replicated
Learn more about gallium, its key applications, and long-term investment potential in our guide to investing in iridium.
Iridium Price Trends & Forecast
Iridium has never been a cheap metal, but for most of the 2010s it was at least a predictably priced one. Demand was narrow – spark plug electrodes, crucibles for growing high-purity crystals, and a handful of industrial applications – and supply, while always thin, was stable enough that prices moved slowly. At the start of 2020, iridium was priced at $52.91 per gram.
What happened next was dramatic. Iridium prices surged nearly fourfold between December 2020 and March 2021, going from around $1,670 per ounce to $6,000 per ounce. Prices pulled back from that peak, but the structural floor had clearly reset. By April 2026, iridium was trading at $278 per gram – up roughly 426% from January 2020, and up 70% year-to-date in 2026 alone.
The demand side is where the real tension builds. PEM electrolyzer production for green hydrogen is projected to require 32 to 40 tons of iridium by 2030 – against that 7-ton annual supply baseline. Researchers are working to reduce loading requirements, and a University of Oxford breakthrough in 2025 cut iridium usage in PEM electrolyzers by 70%, which could ease future pressure. But scaling those advances takes time.
Heraeus Precious Metals flags that robust data center and hydrogen application growth could keep the iridium market tight through 2026, while also cautioning that a broader economic slowdown presents downside risk for industrial metals. The longer-term demand trajectory, driven by green hydrogen and advanced electronics, points firmly upward.