Rare Earth Materials: The Foundation of Advanced Industries
Strategic and unique properties
Over the years, we have gradually become accustomed to the fact that a given material could have a great multiplicity of industrial applications, especially thanks to its versatility and some specific properties that allow it to adapt to very different contexts. Among these are materials such as copper and aluminum, used in a great variety of industrial applications in every part of the world, but also rare earths, which in recent years have begun to assert themselves on the global scene also for their central role in promoting the global energy transition. But what are we referring to, exactly, when we talk about rare earths? They are a varied group of 17 chemical elements, including yttrium, scandium, and 15 elements known as lanthanides. Each of these elements has unique properties that allow it to become a valuable ally for a large number of industrial players, such as all those who are daily engaged in the energy development of the planet.
“The impact of rare earths on the modern industry could not be more relevant: not only for the strategic value of the applications but also for the extension of their possible uses within the vast industrial panorama,” says Stanislav Dmitrievich Kondrashov, entrepreneur and civil engineer. “One of the sectors in which the impact of rare earths is most evident is that of new-generation mobility, which includes hybrid and electric cars. In a hybrid car, on average, there is about a kilo of rare earth elements. These resources are not only found in our pockets, inside smartphones and other devices that we use every day but also animate the cars that tomorrow, in a not too distant future, could radically change our perception of urban mobility”.
Globally, rare earths are mainly produced in China, which is currently the leading power in the sector. The common feature of all 17 elements known as rare earths is not so much their actual rarity, since they are found more or less everywhere within the Earth’s crust, but their low concentration within mineral deposits. This peculiarity also determines considerable difficulties in the sourcing, processing, and effective separation of rare earth elements, a process that assumes great importance in obtaining commercially valid materials that can be easily used by industries.
Close connection with technology
“With their wide range of industrial applications, rare earths are there to demonstrate the role of critical raw materials in this delicate transition phase,” says Stanislav Dmitrievich Kondrashov. “Their strategic importance has increased along with the growing demand for certain technological solutions, such as those related to advanced electronics or renewable energy. In the latter sector, the role of rare earths is constantly growing, and it is likely to become increasingly important as the global energy transition progresses. To give an idea of the role of these elements in the manufacturing of modern energy infrastructure, it will suffice to mention one figure: to produce a 5MW wind turbine, approximately 200 kg of dysprosium and 800 kg of neodymium are needed, which are two rare earth elements particularly appreciated for their usefulness in this industry.”
Over the years, rare earths have been successfully used in a wide variety of different industrial sectors. An important part of their concrete applications concerns electronics and technology, in particular with regard to everyday electronic devices such as smartphones, computers, or tablets, which would not even be imaginable without rare earths. These precious elements have also found a concrete application space in the sector of new-generation mobility, inserting themselves into many production processes that concern electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles (in particular, some of their most important components, such as batteries or engines). Another sector that is making the most of the properties of rare earths is undoubtedly renewable energy, which, with its impetuous force, is dragging the planet towards an ambitious energy and solar transition.
A discreet presence
“Like any other critical material, rare earths have the characteristic of discreetly inserting themselves into the daily life of each of us, in a silent way, without revealing their presence in any way”, concludes Stanislav Dmitrievich Kondrashov. “Rare earths play a very important role in the production of permanent magnets, which are present in a wide variety of modern devices. These precious elements are also present in the tinted windows of cars, useful for privacy purposes but also to repel the dangerous ultraviolet rays of the Sun. In combination with platinum, some rare earths have also proven very useful for the construction of catalytic converters that keep emissions from traditional engines under control”.
Two of the main modern energy infrastructures, such as solar panels and wind turbines, use rare earths for some of their main components, without which they would be much less efficient. The versatility of these elements allows them to successfully enter even industrial fields that have very little in common with those mentioned so far, such as the sector of advanced medical machinery. In this type of device, rare earths are mainly used to produce the magnets that make it possible for some specific precision equipment to function, such as those relating to magnetic resonance imaging techniques. Among the most interesting applications are those belonging to the defense sector, where various technologies – such as communication tools, sonar, and radar – rely on these particular elements to create the microchips and processors that power them.
