L R AS Published on Thursday 28 November 2019 - n° 300 - Categories:various sectors
No rare earths in silicon PV; no or almost no rare earths in batteries
No rare earths in PV; no or almost no rare earths in batteries
ADEME points out that renewable energies use very little rare earths. It states that the silicon photovoltaic technologies currently on the market are based on the use of rare earths.
do not use rare earths. Thin films use tellurium, cadmium, indium or silver which are not rare earths.
Rare earths are not used, or only in very small quantities (possibly as an additive), in the composition of batteries. Only nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries include a rare earth alloy at the cathode, but the use of these batteries will remain marginal because they are too expensive.
Wind turbines use them, but in very small quantities (3% on land-based wind turbines in France). Offshore wind turbines use rare earths (neodymium and dysprosium) for permanent magnets. It would be possible, for example, to manufacture asynchronous generators or synchronous generators without permanent magnets. This would make it possible to reduce, or avoid, the use of these earths. If global offshore wind capacity reached 120 GW, these rare earths could account for 6% of annual neodymium production and more than 30% of annual dysprosium production,
PV Magazine of 27 November
