Unlike the classic jewelry metals gold or silver, the future of osmium lies primarily in high-tech applications. The opportunities for private investors in tangible assets are significant.
Limits of silicon-based chips
Every growth stage eventually reaches its limits. This is also true for silicon-based chips in the semiconductor industry. For decades, the sector kept setting one record after another. The famous “Moore’s Law,” which states that transistor density on chips doubles roughly every two years, became a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Millions and billions of chips are not only built into laptops and smartphones or powering artificial intelligence. Huge quantities are also found in household appliances, cars, elevators, and escalators.
But soon, Moore’s Law will no longer hold. The density on silicon-based chips is now so high that “innovators are hitting physical limits,” as described in the latest book by leading German tech journalist Thomas Ramge, written together with Ansgar Baums (“The Hour of the Rhinos”).
“The latest chips have a technology node size of three nanometers. For comparison: atoms have a diameter of 0.01 to 0.05 nanometers. This increases the risk of unwanted quantum effects. Electrons could jump unpredictably from one circuit path or transistor to another,” the authors conclude. In other words, there is hardly any more space left on the chips.
The rise of quantum computers
Classic chips have reached a kind of “computing power plateau,” beyond which further technological leaps are hardly possible. Quantum computing is thus emerging as a serious successor to the chip era.
Second-generation quantum computing is considered a key technology of the future: instead of working with classical bits, quantum computers use “qubits.” These can represent multiple states at the same time—going beyond the familiar zeros and ones. This allows highly complex problems to be solved in a fraction of the time—whether in drug development, materials research, or optimizing global supply chains.
Companies and research institutions worldwide are investing billions of dollars and euros in further development to secure strategic advantages. New perspectives are also opening up for artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, through more efficient learning processes or stronger encryption systems. The technology is still in its early stages, but its disruptive potential could redefine entire industries.
A new chapter for Osmium
Developing quantum computers requires not only the intellectual power of researchers but also rare raw materials. One of these is osmium. It is a very rare, hard, and brittle transition metal with the chemical symbol Os and atomic number 76.
It is the densest element on Earth and belongs to the platinum group metals. Its hardness and virtual indestructibility make osmium the ideal ingredient for high-tech industries—especially quantum computing. Osmium is on its way to becoming the silicon of quantum computing.
The challenge: The crystalline osmium currently available on the market is a sought-after and high-value material for the global jewelry and watch industry. But to be used in quantum computers, it first needs to be converted into “HighTechReady Osmium” (HTR). Demand—and thus the market—for this HTR osmium is now developing.
Tangible-asset investors who invest in HTR osmium are therefore early movers before the market truly takes off in the coming years. “With a second exit into further markets, osmium will also become important as a raw material for tangible-asset investors,” says Ingo Wolf, head of the German Osmium Institute laboratory. Wolf is regarded as the world’s leading expert on the precious metal and was the closing speaker at the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI) Conference.
Future industries rely on HighTechReady Osmium
The reason for optimism and the turning point in the osmium market: this inconspicuous yet counterfeit-proof precious metal, when specially purified, is becoming increasingly important in future industries.
Besides second-generation quantum computing, these include fields such as medical technology, high-temperature superconductivity, and advanced military technology. Exciting applications are also emerging in technologies designed to remove climate-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using processes similar to photosynthesis, while simultaneously generating energy.
All these industries, particularly important for Germany as a location, require HighTechReady Osmium.
High purity is essential for high-tech applications
The “standard” osmium on the market is unsuitable for the high-tech applications described. Crystalline osmium must first be transformed into HTR osmium with an especially high degree of purity. For osmium to be used in sensitive high-tech areas, certain impurities must be almost completely removed.
Only after this purification does the powder achieve the necessary purity for further processing. The end product is a fine-grained material with a slight gray shimmer, suitable for applications such as superconductivity or quantum computing—anywhere the highest purity is essential.
HTR osmium is valued at roughly half the price of crystalline osmium. When purchasing HTR osmium with Osmium.com, storage in the high-security facility of the Osmium World Council in Murnau, Bavaria, is included, as the material is stored in collective custody. Crystalline osmium can also be stored there.