Critical Material Applications and Intensities in Clean Energy Technologies

Clean energy technologies have been developed to address the pressing global issue of climate change; however, the functionality of many of these technologies relies on materials that are considered critical. Critical materials are those that have potential vulnerability to supply disruption. In this paper, critical material intensity data from academic articles, government reports, and industry publications are aggregated and presented in a variety of functional units, which vary based on the application of each technology. The clean energy production technologies of gas turbines, direct drive wind turbines, and three types of solar photovoltaics (silicon, CdTe, and CIGS); the low emission mobility technologies of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, permanent-magnet-containing motors, and both nickel metal hydride and Li-ion batteries; and, the energy-efficient lighting devices (CFL, LFL, and LED bulbs) are analyzed. To further explore the role of critical materials in addressing climate change, emissions savings units are also provided to illustrate the potential for greenhouse gas emission reductions per mass of critical material in each of the clean energy production technologies. Results show the comparisons of material use in clean energy technologies under various performance, economic, and environmental based units.