From slimes to sun power: Looking at tellurium recovery from copper residue

With the rush toward renewable energy, the need for materials to support this transition has exploded. One of these materials is tellurium, an element rarer than gold or platinum in the Earth’s crust (0.001 ppm versus 0.004 ppm and 0.005 ppm, respectively).

More than half of the world’s tellurium is used in the form of cadmium telluride (CdTe), a direct bandgap material for thin-film solar technology. CdTe solar cells have continued to gain market share in the solar industry due to their greater energy efficiency and lower production costs compared to silicon solar cells.¹

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From slimes to sun power: Looking at tellurium recovery from copper residue

With the rush toward renewable energy, the need for materials to support this transition has exploded. One of these materials is tellurium, an element rarer than gold or platinum in the Earth’s crust (0.001 ppm versus 0.004 ppm and 0.005 ppm, respectively).

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