Why was a niobium capacitor developed?
The rarity of the mineral tantalum makes it vulnerable to supply shortages and sudden price jumps. This was particularly apparent last year, when a shortage of tantalum caused the price to rise to a 20-year high, making it impossible to supply products to some customers. With at least 100 times more deposits than tantalum, niobium offers stability in terms of both supply and price. Also, because we can produce a niobium capacitor that has almost the same quality as a tantalum capacitor, we are able to offer customers a stable supply of small-size high-capacity solid electrolytic capacitors. This is why we developed a niobium capacitor. Moreover, with today’s market demanding higher capacity, the cost merits of niobium, if the supply is increased, will enable us to proceed with commercialization of high-capacity products, which we were unable to do with tantalum due to its supply and cost uncertainties.
