Rare Earth Elements In Solar Panels

So why the interest in rare earth.

Rare earth elements in solar panels.

Rare earth elements are used in everything from renewables to spacecraft and play a critical role in today s world. Due to environmental and foreign policy concerns they also have an uncertain future. Terbium and europium are used in thin film solar panels while dysprosium is used to manufacture batteries in most hybrid gas electric vehicles that use magnets. If solar panels are so clean why do they produce much toxic waste.

Rees are used in everything from solar panels to electric cars. Thin film pv technologies for example contain potentially critical metals such as tellurium. Using rare metals in solar panels. Experts have found that the rare metals required to build solar panels such as indium and tellurium are not in sufficient supply to keep up with demand.

However a lack of rare earths does not mean that the components of solar modules are harmless. This means that global production of several rare earth minerals used in solar panels and wind turbines especially neodymium terbium indium dysprosium and praseodymium must grow twelvefold by. However recent research coming out of the netherlands has spotted a red flag to relying on solar panels as a panacea for global emissions problems.