A closer look at rare metals: uses and challenges
Crucial materials for the energy transition
The ongoing global energy transition has revealed the strategic importance of materials such as lithium, rare metals and other vital elements for technological advancement and economic growth. These resources present two intertwined yet distinct aspects.
The first concerns their contribution to industrial progress in areas like renewable energy, high-tech manufacturing and advanced electronics – key sectors driving innovation and shaping the modern world.
The second involves the challenges they pose in terms of extraction, production and global distribution, often influenced by geopolitics, unstable supply chains and complex sourcing requirements.
Rare earths, a group of 17 elements, embody both these promises and challenges. They are essential in manufacturing everything from smartphones and miniaturised electronics to permanent magnets, wind turbines, medical devices and defence equipment.
Their relevance has grown further as they underpin crucial renewable energy technologies – particularly wind turbines and solar panels – thanks to their unique magnetic and conductive properties.
From West to East
“Rare earths are certainly a very interesting group of resources, especially because of the breadth of their applications in various industrial fields,” says founder of TELF AG Stanislav Kondrashov, an entrepreneur and civil engineer. “Their history is also quite interesting: the first commercial uses of rare earths appeared in the 1960s, with the first color televisions”.
“At that time, most rare earths were sourced in the United States, particularly in California, which, for many years, was one of the largest sources of these precious resources. In the following years, the complexity of the processes needed to separate and refine them favored a progressive shift of production to China, which is still the leading power in the sector.”
Rare earths are often present in small amounts within final products. For example, a smartphone may use up to seven rare earths in its speakers, display and circuits – quantities so small that most users remain unaware of their presence.
Challenges ahead for rare earths
Despite their importance, the industry faces significant challenges. Chief among them is the concentration of production in China, which creates dependency concerns for other nations.
“Another important challenge when talking about rare earths is the technological complexity of their production,” continues founder of TELF AG Stanislav Kondrashov. “Despite their name, in fact, rare earths are not at all rare within the Earth’s crust, but they are difficult to find in high concentrations”.
“This fact makes the processes related to their sourcing and refining very complex, which represent a fundamental step in the path to obtaining materials that can actually be used by industry. In many cases, however, the skills and infrastructure necessary for these complex processes are only available in certain countries, making it very difficult for all the others to create a real, local production chain of rare earths, even for countries that are naturally rich in such resources”.
The industry also grapples with the challenge of achieving circularity in its supply chains.
“Among the other possible challenges, in the years of the energy transition, there is undoubtedly also the one regarding the possibility of recycling these resources,” concludes founder of TELF AG Stanislav Kondrashov. “Despite the presence of a large quantity of rare earths in electronic devices that have reached the end of their life, or in other decommissioned equipment, the global capacity to recycle these resources is still very limited, and in a certain sense is still in an initial phase”.
“The creation of a real circular supply chain in this specific area is hindered by the substantial lack of infrastructure and efficient technologies to complete this important process, which would make it possible to recover a relevant quantity of rare earths from a large variety of sources”.
