Transitioning to renewable energy sources will require specific minerals, like dysprosium - used for manufacturing wind turbine magnets - but according to a new study published by Joule, dysprosium may not become depleted anytime soon.
Scientists are exploring various strategies to mine rare earths more efficiently. One method involves using microbes to leach rare earths out of ore or recycled e-waste.
Solar energy, wind power, and other green technologies have successfully reduced carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change. Yet they rely on non-renewable resources, including rare earth metals like those required by permanent magnets in electric vehicle motors - for instance neodymium, dysprosium and praseodymium are necessary components.
Due to scarcity, high prices for metals prompted bold solutions from companies. Some suggested mining the ocean floor or extracting them from acidic wastewater, while others attempted opening new mines in Amazon rainforest or mining moon regolith for valuable elements. Unfortunately, prices quickly returned to pre-2009 levels; Molycorp went bankrupt while their Mountain Pass mine was sold off and sent for processing in China by another firm.
Policymakers and green technology developers need to come together in order to find alternatives that don't rely on rare earth elements, including creating incentives for research into products that use less rare earth elements or substitute scarce ones with abundant ones; developing sustainable mining techniques; recycling electronic waste in order to reduce demand; or even recycling electronic waste to satisfy up to 30% of future neodymium and dysprosium needs, according to Union of Concerned Scientists estimates.
As green energy becomes more mainstream, its use demands an increase in raw materials like lithium carbonate, cobalt and nickel used to manufacture batteries - with electric vehicles using three to six times more of them than ICE vehicles do. To decrease demand growth for raw materials used for these purposes, efficient wind turbines and electric vehicles should be made more commonplace.
Tesla electric cars utilize magnets made of rare earth metals that use one-half as much rare earth metals compared to conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, helping reduce costs associated with both EVs and wind turbines.
Recycling rare earth metals is another effective means of decreasing demand. An estimated 53 million tons of e-waste were generated worldwide in 2019, including raw materials that contain rare earth elements like neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium - according to Union of Concerned Scientists research this could reduce new mining needs by 30 percent.
Further research is necessary to evaluate the environmental impacts associated with mining and refining rare earth elements on a global scale, since existing studies only assess individual supply chain stages or manufacturing of specific products such as batteries or magnets. A new study published by Science Advances marks a breakthrough by providing insight into mass flow trends and dynamics over time.
https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=68982945
Electric car batteries consume six times as many minerals than conventional gas-powered cars do, as light rare earth elements such as praseodymium and neodymium are needed for the high-powered magnets in EV batteries, while heavier rare earth metals, including dysprosium and terbium, play an essential role in motors and wind turbines. According to one study, there may be shortages of such elements; however, green energy demand could still be met through improved mining, processing and recycling efforts.
Research into battery technology during the 1970s and 80s led to nickel-metal hydride batteries using lanthanum and neodymium as rechargeable storage materials, used for hybrid cars before making way for lithium-ion batteries that power today's electric vehicles; these require even more resources such as cobalt and lithium.
China dominates the global market for rare earth minerals. Prices rose dramatically after the United States, Japan and Europe filed a World Trade Organization grievance against China over its export restrictions for the minerals. Molycorp then reopened their Mountain Pass mine in California for final processing by China before sending semi-processed ore to them instead.
E-waste can also provide rare earth metals, though recycling them can be challenging due to toxic chemical contamination of many materials. Mining may be environmentally dangerous as digging up earth exposes toxic heavy metals and contaminants.
http://goldstockstoinvestinvpyr828.theburnward.com/making-a-purchase-in-rare-earths
Rare earth elements are expected to experience rapid expansion as a result of emerging technologies, including electric vehicles and renewable energy sources. Their primary end use is manufacturing permanent magnets which are integral parts of modern electronics like televisions and tablets as well as wind turbines, automobile catalytic converters, jet aircraft and wind turbines. Furthermore, rare earths can also be found in high-tech products for their luminescent or catalytic properties.
China controls nearly 80% of the global market for metals, and has significantly ramped up production and exports in response to increasing global demand for them. This caused sharp price decreases around the world and many rival producers either went bankrupt or drastically reduced production output as a result.
Policymakers and mining companies need to find ways to make rare earths for energy transition more sustainable. One option could be increasing recycling. E-waste contains precious raw materials like neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium - yet only about 10% are recovered through recycling programs currently.
An alternative solution could be to find ways to replace rare earths with less-rare alternatives, such as using permanent magnets free of neodymium or replacing rare-earth-containing cathode materials with more common cathodes; or scaling back turbine generators' electricity consumption by decreasing their size with rare earth magnets containing permanent magnets containing them - even though this might lead to minor efficiency and performance losses, but could help avoid stiff competition over a globally scarce resource.