Solar cell metals and their hosts: A tale of oversupply and undersupply

Ayman Elshkaki and T.E. Graedel

Applied Energy, 2015, vol. 158, issue C, 167-177

Abstract: Several scenarios have been proposed recently for the future electricity generation approaches that include a substantial share of renewable technologies. The proposed increase in the market share of these technologies has led to increasing concern regarding the availability of the metals required for these technologies, as well as for the impacts associated with their production. In this regards, it is of interest that most of the metals that are essential for renewable technologies are coproduced with other metals: indium, germanium, and cadmium with zinc, and tellurium and selenium with copper, for example. An increase in the demand for the companion metals can be met either by increasing the recycling of these metals, the efficiency of their recovery, or their extraction from primary resources, the latter of which will lead to an increase in the production of the host metals with possible implications on their supply and demand.

Keywords: PV solar technologies; Companion metals; Host metals; Waste; Emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.08.066

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