A new report by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe) shows that rare earth minerals are not widely used in solar energy and battery storage technologies.
Rare earth elements (REEs) play a key role in the green energy transition. They are used extensively in wind turbines and electric vehicle powertrains. But there are concerns about the dependence of the global supply chain on China, especially in light of its trade war with the US in recent years. What are rare earth elements?
Why are rare earths used in modern technologies?
The use of REEs in modern technologies has grown because their properties enable serious technical advantages such as performing at reduced energy consumption, greater efficiency, miniaturisation, speed, durability and thermal stability (Balaram, 2019). Some products require a single element of rare earths, while others require a mixture of REEs.
Rare earth elements (hereinafter referred to as REEs) are a group of 17 chemical elements, including 15 lanthanides (lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium) and scandium and yttrium.
Are rare earth elements available for wind turbines & electric vehicles?
In addition, forecasting studies have drawn attention to the availability risks of main REEs used for wind turbines and electric vehicles, and more generally, the challenges surrounding rare earth elements supply (Wang et al., 2015, Wang et al., 2020, Rollat et al., 2016).
What are rare earth metals & rare earth oxides?
Sometimes referred to as rare earth metals and rare earth oxides, REEs are moderately abundant in the Earth's crust and possess unique properties of particular value in catalysts, optical materials, magnets, batteries and lighting applications, amongst others.
How does energy fuels make rare earth metals?
In December 2021, Energy Fuels announced the development, in partnership with Nanoscale Powders LLC, of environmentally friendly technology for manufacturing rare earth metals. The innovative technology uses a process that makes REE metals from oxides through molten sodium reduction of anhydrous REE chlorides.