Global demand for technology metals is increasing in a fast pace as clean technologies continue to expand as rapidly as expected. The move toward new and better technologies — from smart phones to electric cars — means an ever-increasing demand for technology metals that are scarce. It is really tough for manufacturers of solar energy products, wind energy, electric cars, and other green energy products to keep up with the increasing requirements. Technology metals are inexpensively significant to the functionality of society, but have a high risk of production and supply deficiency.
No doubt, the shortages of technology metals force up prices and leave the industry unable to deliver the technological revolution that is required to decarbonize the economy. The supply challenges for five tech metals – dysprosium, neodymium, yttrium, terbium and europium – may cause price hikes as they are the building blocks of clean-energy technology. The demand for tellurium is predicted to increase by 360 percent by 2030 and under high demand estimates this could put pressure on supply chains.
A recent research report reveals that the expansion of technology metal’s market will see a large expansion rate in the coming future. The tech metal market was valued at $ 3.93 billion in 2012, and is expected to reach $ 8.19 billion by 2018; at a growth rate CAGR of 13.0%. Furthermore, by the year 2018, the quantities of overall technology metals requirement are projected to go further than 290 kilo tons.
Rising demand and the complexities of bringing on new metal production has led to increasing concerns about the future availability of metals critical to modern technologies. The future availability of these metals remains uncertain and this could have serious effects for the decarbonisation strategy of many countries. Scientists worldwide are working hard to find alternatives or better ways to reprocess the techmetals, but the majority of them propose chances for material substitution are very less. Despite the high cost and high demand of metals critical for energy technologies and gadgets, very little of these technology metals are recycled.
Today, the vast bulk of metals needed to build these technologies come primarily from China. But output control measures of China regulate production and result in increased prices of these precious metals. A shortage of supply can definitely be good for high prices and providentially, depositors can expect large price hikes now and tap into these commodity stocks which are considered as the building blocks of 21st century.
