Anyone who dismisses Dysprosium as having no commercial or investment value is a dim bulb. Even First Captain. This is a no-brainer.

Uncovering the Key Features of Dysprosium Flows and Stocks in China

• Shijiang Xiao

, Yong Geng*, Hengyu Pan, Ziyan Gao, and Tianli Yao

Cite this: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2022, 56, 12, 8682–8690

Publication Date:May 11, 2022

https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c07724

Copyright © 2022 American Chemical Society

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Dysprosium (Dy) is a critical rare earth element and plays an indispensable role in clean energy technologies, such as wind turbines and electric vehicles. However, its flows and stocks in the whole life cycle and potential barriers to sustainable supply remain unclear, although the demand for Dy is increasing and its reserves are limited. This study aims to track China’s Dy cycle for the period of 2000 to 2019 by employing dynamic material flow analysis. The results show that (1) demand for Dy had increased by 117-fold, with an accumulative use of 37,317 tons, of which 50% was obtained from illegal mining; (2) 33% of the overall Dy resource was used in wind turbines in 2019, followed by air conditioners and electric vehicles (22 and 17%, respectively); (3) China’s net Dy export had increased by 10-fold from 2000 to 2019, with Dy concentrates and final products being the dominant import and export products, respectively. Illegal mining, inadequate recycling policies, and limited Dy supply sources are potential barriers influencing sustainable Dy supply.