Rare Earth Elements and Upcoming Competition

Rare earth elements are found in the earth's crust and are not very rare, but they are typically found in very small quantities, are arranged over large areas, and require complex post-processing, which makes most existing deposits too expensive to mine. Rare earths are key elements used in automobiles, consumer electronics, computers, communications, clean energy, and defense systems.

Classification of rare metals. The main rare metals are beryllium, germanium, lithium, niobium, PR rare earth, strontium, tantalum, cesium, zirconium. Secondary rare metals: vanadium, bismuth, gallium, hafnium, indium, cadmium, rhenium, Rb rubidium, Se selenium, Sc scandium, Te tellurium, Tl thallium.

Fields of application: telecommunications (Ga, Ge, In); ultra-light and high-temperature resistant alloys (Re, Nb, Ta, V, Y, Ce, Li and others); hybrid vehicles (Li, TR); TV and computer monitors (TR, In, Sc, Sr, etc.).

Rubidium, lithium, strontium, beryllium, cesium, gallium, indium, thallium, rhenium, zirconium, tantalum, niobium, and vanadium are some of the 36 chemical elements that were widely used in world industry in the second half of the twentieth century. Given the rate of growth, their demand is increasing by 15-25% per year in some rapidly developing regions.

Rare metals have special chemical, optical or catalytic properties. They allow the use of LEDs (light emitting diodes) in lighting and turn exhaust pipes into particle traps. But their electromagnetic properties are the most important for the energy sector. When an electric current passes through the magnetic field of two magnets in the right direction, it creates a force that rotates them relative to each other. This is the principle of electric motors.

The properties of rare metals now make it possible to produce very powerful magnets (the largest magnet is 132 tons and is located at the Nuclear Research Center in Saclay, France) or to reduce the size of magnets for the same power, for example, to make electric brushes. Without such magnets, Solar Impulse - the Swiss long-range experimental solar aircraft project - would never have taken off.

Rare metal magnets are auxiliary tools for the electric motors that invade our daily lives and make the energy transition possible. But these motors are powered by batteries, which themselves depend on rare metals. In order to charge these batteries, wind turbines, so large magnets, or solar panels using gallium, selenium and indium must be used.

By 2035, demand for tantalum is expected to quadruple and demand for cobalt to increase twenty-four-fold. This is one of the limits of the energy transition. Experts warn that supporting the change in our energy paradigm will already require doubling the production of rare metals every 15 years, and they point out that by 2040, three times more rare earths and 16 times more lithium will be mined than today.

There is no substitute for rare earth elements, and they cannot be recycled. Although each inhabitant of the planet uses only 17 grams of rare earths per year in various forms, consumption will explode in the next few years. Since rare metals are at the heart of renewable energy and digitalization. The energy transition, therefore, has a dark side: new dependencies, environmentally damaging production, polluted populations and technologies that emit CO₂.

There are no substitutes for rare earth elements, they cannot be recycled, and their distribution often puts the owner in a monopoly situation. It is possible to influence their prices or close the tap.

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