Magnesium: Industrial and Research Developments Over the Last 15 Years

Global magnesium production has doubled since 2000. Production is now dominated by China, which accounts for about 80% of the total. Production in the rest of the world has actually declined since 2000. Magnesium is a relatively low-cost option for achieving weight reduction beyond that attainable with aluminum. The price of magnesium has been relatively stable because of a price spike in 2008. Analysis of research papers published on magnesium alloys shows an order of magnitude increase in numbers since 2000. As is the case for magnesium metal production, the Asian contribution has had a large effect, with Chinese authors accounting for over 40% of all publications in the period of 2009 to 2013. The fields of study in magnesium alloys show significant deviations from existing commercial applications, with wrought-magnesium alloys having far greater representation in research papers compared to components, i.e., real items made of magnesium alloys used in commercial applications. Corrosion and corrosion protection remain as topical issues in magnesium research, representing the largest (by number) subtopic of magnesium research papers published since 1999.