Niobium

Niobium is a metal element found in the late game and in space destinations. In the base game, its initial deposits can be revealed by exploring space with a Research Module, after which Niobium can be recovered as a solid resource with a Cargo Bay. The only planet that yields Niobium in the base game is the Superconductive Asteroid.

In the Spaced Out! DLC, Niobium also appears naturally throughout the Superconductive Asteroid as low-mass mineable tiles, usually embedded in Obsidian and Magma, which makes extraction awkward. A single Niobium Volcano can also generate on that asteroid, providing an infinite source of the metal.

Once Thermium is available, Niobium can be produced from it. The Metal Refinery converts Thermium into Niobium at a 1:1 ratio, and the Rock Crusher can also break down Thermium into Niobium and Sand.

• Metal Refinery: 100 kg Thermium → 100 kg Niobium
• Rock Crusher: 100 kg Thermium → 50 kg Niobium + 50 kg Sand

Niobium’s primary use is as an ingredient in Thermium at the Molecular Forge. The recipe consumes 5 kg Niobium and 95 kg Tungsten to produce 100 kg Thermium. This makes Niobium part of the production loop for one of the best late-game construction materials in the game.

When used as a building material, Niobium increases a building’s overheat temperature by 500°C and increases decor by 50%. Even so, there is usually little reason to build with Niobium instead of Thermium once Thermium is available, since Thermium provides the stronger overall benefits. Its main practical exception is as a decorative metal, where Niobium offers the same decor value as Gold while still being usable as a Metal Ore.

A useful feature of Niobium production is that Thermium can be converted back into Niobium at a 1:1 rate through the Metal Refinery. Since Thermium itself is made from Niobium and Tungsten, this creates a bootstrap cycle that effectively turns Tungsten into more Niobium after the first batch is produced. Only a small initial amount of Niobium is needed to start the loop, and after that the supply is limited mainly by Tungsten availability.