This story was originally published byGrist.
In April, it secured one of its biggest clients yet.
The reason a major manufacturer entered a contract with a mining company that isnt mining anything yet?
Offshore wind turbines near Liverpool, England.Photo: Nathan Stirk (Getty Images)
Rare earths are agroup of 17 elementswith chemical properties that make them useful for a range of high-tech applications.
To understand why the offshore wind industry needs rare earth metals, you have to understandhow a turbine works.
Wind turbines are essentially steel towers topped with long, propellor-like blades.
Permanent magnet generators have one big drawback, though: They need a lot of rare earths.
By 2050, theres going to be greater demand for everything, Derby told Grist.
Limited supplies of rare earths are one concern for the wind industry.
Another is the reality that nearly all rare earth processing and magnet-making takes place in China today.
Some, like Siemens Gamesa, have taken steps to find new suppliers.
Arafura didnt respond to a request for comment.
Siemens Gamesa isnt the only wind turbine maker betting on Arafura.
De Jonge said Arafuras planned rare earth mine ticks many boxes for companies like Siemens Gamesa and GE.
To set up these supply lines from mining to component, theyre billions of dollars, Abraham said.
And buying Chinese rare earths for processing and manufacturing elsewhere doesnt necessarily lower costs.
But the cost of making a rare earth magnet varies as the price of the underlying metals changes.
China controls nearly 100 percent of the processing of heavy rare earths, which are often mined indismal conditions.
GE, meanwhile, is doing early-stage research onsuperconducting generatorsthat eliminate the use of rare earths entirely.
Commercial-scale recycling options dont yet exist for wind turbine magnets.
We should seize the opportunity.
This article originally appeared inGristathttps://grist.org/energy/offshore-wind-turbines-need-rare-earth-metals-will-there-be-enough-to-go-around/.
Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future.
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