![]() ![]() Breaking the Chinese MonopolyĬurrently, China holds a near monopoly in the global market for both the mining and refining of REEs, and most nations and industries of the world are dependent upon Chinese exports. Be it for national defense or for sustaining electric car assembly lines, it is in the best interests of both corporations and governments to ensure a stable supply of REEs. With the continual expansion of the electronics industry and the explosive demand for ubiquitous renewable energy technologies, global demand for REEs is only expected to rise. Many of these industries have expanded tremendously in the past few decades, underscoring the sudden and recent attention bestowed upon REEs by politicians and scientists alike.įor instance, mobile phones have evolved from a rare novelty twenty years ago to an essential tool for some five billion people in 2019 (Silver 2019). Materials that contain REEs are crucial in several critical industries, notably in the manufacturing of electronic and optoelectronic devices as well as high-power magnets for electrical power generation (Figure 2). The four lightest REEs-lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), and neodymium (Nd)-typically constitute more than 80% of these deposits, and heavier REEs such as europium (Eu), terbium (Tb), and dysprosium (Dy) are much more difficult to find (USGS 2021). REEs are therefore costly and energy intensive to extract. However, this abundance is distributed throughout the crust and is rarely found in concentrated deposits. ![]() Some REEs such as Cerium (Ce) are as abundant as industrial metals like Copper (Cu) and Nickel (Ni), as shown in Figure 1. ![]() Despite the name, REEs are not very rare and found far more commonly in the Earth’s continental upper crust than most precious metals such as gold (Au) and platinum (Pt). Rare earth elements (hereafter referred to as REEs) is a collective term for seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table consisting of yttrium (Y), scandium (Sc), and the 15 elements of the lanthanide series (IUPAC 2005). This report summarizes the key challenges and outlines targeted policy suggestions for key technologies and elements to secure their long-term supply and procurement in a peaceful and sustainable way. This presents multifaceted challenges in terms of policy-making both at the scientific as well as geo-political level. At the same time procurement of REEs must also remain an ecologically sustainable and economically viable process. Addressing climate change is the need of the hour which demands advanced technologies in multiple spheres that critically depend on REEs. In recent years, the global supply, mining and distribution of REEs has come under intense pressure for a variety of reasons, including high demand, geopolitical tensions, lack of sustainable sources, and poor recovery efforts. They are an indispensable part of strong magnets for electric power generation to rechargeable battery components as well as for optical devices such as lasers. Rare earth elements (REEs) are crucial ingredients for a range of energy and information technologies. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |