In the early twentieth Century, niobium was first applied to the manufacture of incandescent lamps. But application was soon replaced by tungsten because the melting point of later is higher and more suitable for making incandescent lamps. In 1920s, Nb was able to enhance the strength of steel and was found to promote the application in the steel industry. Now, the steel field is still the main application area of niobium. In 1940s, the application of tantalum and niobium superalloys was developed. In 1950s, the extraction separation of them technology laid the foundation for the development . In 1961, American physicist Eugene Kunzler and his colleagues discovered in Bell Laboratory that Nb-Sn alloys can maintain superconductivity in the presence of strong current and magnetic field. This discovery promoted the application of Nb in the field of electricity and electromagnetics.

   At the end of 1970s, the world consumption of niobium reached 1000-1200 tons. By the end of 1980s, the consumption increased to 1600-1800 tons. According to the data released by the US Geological Survey in 2014, the global production of niobium in 2013 was about 51,000 tons, and the production was relatively concentrated. The production  in Brazil and Canada alone accounted for about 98% of the world's total production . North America and Europe are the main consumption areas of niobium. China is also a big consumer . In 2010, China's consumption of niobium accounted for a quarter of the total global consumption. At present, the world's niobium industry has developed to a very high level in terms of mineral processing, smelting, processing technology, production scale, output, application fields and consumption. its products are also widely used in iron and steel, superconducting materials, electronics, medical and other industries. Among them, niobium consumes the most in the field of iron and steel, accounting for about 90% of the total global consumption .

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