The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Critical Minerals Alliances 2024 - September 16, 2024
Lithium-tellurium battery cells being tested at UBC Okanagan's Advanced Materials' Energy Storage Lab.
The American-made thin-film solar panels being produced by First Solar are powering new demand for tellurium.
PyroDelta's tellurium-based thermoelectric generators are solid-state devices that convert temperature differences on opposite sides of the device into clean, low-cost electricity.
Tellurium-based thermoelectric generators have the potential to extend drone flight times and expand applications.
A hot engine and a cool breeze, a cozy living room on a cold winter day, or the warmth of sunshine on your face and the coolness of the earth beneath your feet – there are temperature variations all around. Devices capable of efficiently transforming these thermal dichotomies into clean electricity 24 hours a day without any moving parts would forever change the energy dynamics on Earth. While such a miraculous technology seems like it belongs on the pages of a science fiction novel, a rare and remarkable element known as tellurium is bringing such perpetual clean energy dreams closer to reality than you may realize.
Setting aside any futuristic speculation, tellurium is already lending its unique and extraordinary properties to the production of American-made solar panels and thermoelectric generators that convert industrial waste heat into clean electricity and is being tested in solid-state batteries that could significantly extend the range of electric vehicles.
First Tellurium Corp., a British Columbia-based mineral exploration company that is rapidly evolving into a clean-tech firm, is pushing the cutting edge when it comes to applying tellurium's unique characteristics to futuristic clean energy technologies.
The tellurium-based solid-state batteries and thermoelectric devices being pioneered by First Tellurium and its partners have captured the attention of officials at the U.S. Department of Defense, National Science Foundation (NSF), and RESOLVE Inc., a Washington, DC-based non-governmental organization focused on sustainable solutions.
The reputational and funding support of DOD, NSF, and RESOLVE underscores the promise of future-leaning clean energy technologies that tellurium is enabling.
With properties that fall somewhere between metals such as zinc and non-metals such as carbon, tellurium is one of a handful of elements on the periodic table classified as metalloids – antimony, arsenic, boron, germanium, and silicon are other members of this group of semimetals.
While tellurium does not often come up in conversation at the dinner table, this rare element with both metal and non-metal traits has quietly become an important ingredient to America's clean energy transition.
This is due to the metalloid's use in cadmium-telluride (CdTe) solar technology, which is less popular than traditional silicon panels internationally but represents the top photovoltaic solar technology in the U.S. According to the Department of Energy's 2023 Critical Materials Assessment, CdTe panels account for more than half of all new solar installations in the U.S.
The American-made thin-film solar panels being produced by First Solar are powering new demand for tellurium.
This outsized popularity in the U.S. is due to the success of Ohio-based First Solar Inc., the world's largest manufacturer of CdTe solar panels. The company is on track to manufacture enough solar panels this year to generate roughly 16 gigawatts of electricity.
To help supply First Solar's growing demand, global metals and mining company Rio Tinto installed a circuit capable of recovering roughly 20 metric tons of tellurium per year at a Utah refinery that processes copper concentrates from its Kennecott Mine.
"We are proud to deliver a new domestic supply of tellurium to support the manufacturing of solar panels and other critical equipment here in the United States," Rio Tinto Copper CEO Clayton Walker said upon the mid-2022 start-up of this facility.
DOE, however, says that recovering tellurium as a byproduct of copper is "nearing saturation in every country other than China" and forecasts shortages of the rare metalloid if alternative supplies do not come online soon.
"Without significant expansion of the tellurium supply capacity, shortages of Te could occur in the short term (2025) and are likely in the medium term (2025-2035)," the Energy Department penned in its Critical Materials Assessment.
To help fill shortfalls, First Tellurium is exploring two tellurium-enriched projects – Klondike in Colorado and Deer Horn in British Columbia – that could offer North American supplies of this critical metalloid.
While First Tellurium began as a mineral exploration company on the hunt for new sources of its namesake metalloid to meet solar demand, the company has come to realize that tellurium has more to offer the clean energy transition than previously realized.
This led the company to work with scientists at the University of British Columbia Okanagan to develop and test a solid-state lithium-tellurium battery that could solve the range and fire anxieties that have caused many drivers to be reluctant to buy an EV.
In 2023, the UBC Okanagan researchers published a study showing that the lithium-tellurium battery they are working on lasts longer, charges faster, stores more energy, and is safer than its lithium-ion counterparts.
"All-solid-state, lithium-tellurium batteries enable higher energy output with an improved safety rating inside a smaller form-factor, thereby expanding its possible applications," said Jian Liu, principal's research chair in energy storage technologies at UBC Okanagan.
Fenix Advanced Materials, a B.C.-based company that specializes in ultra-high purity metals for high-tech and clean energy applications, supplied the UBC research team with high-quality tellurium derived from First Tellurium's Deer Horn project.
"The high purity of the tellurium along with the mineral's overall attributes makes it ideal as a rechargeable battery material," said Liu.
Safer and longer-lasting batteries, as well as secure and reliable supply chains to support them, are high on the list of DOD priorities.
"Advanced batteries are the single-greatest cost and a bottleneck for electric platforms due to supply chain and integration issues," said Andrew Higier, director of the energy portfolio at the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit.
One of the primary issues is China's domination of supply chains for the batteries "essential to thousands of military systems," according to U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks.
"When it comes to batteries, America needs to lead the world," she said.
This is why DOD is interested in backing the tellurium-based technologies and supply chains being pioneered by First Tellurium and its partners.
"We had a very encouraging first meeting with the Department of Defense at this year's Energy Metals Conference in Washington, DC," said First Tellurium President and CEO Tyrone Docherty. "In subsequent meetings, they also expressed interest in our tellurium projects in Colorado and British Columbia and the thermoelectric device developed by our subsidiary PyroDelta Inc."
Tellurium-based thermoelectric generators have the potential to extend drone flight times and expand applications.
The Pentagon has also expressed interest in tellurium-based thermoelectric devices being pioneered by PyroDelta that are shaping up to be a complete gamechanger in how clean energy is produced.
The PyroDelta thermoelectric generators were built upon a discovery made by German scientist Thomas Seebeck more than 200 years ago. At the time, Seebeck found that when one end of certain materials is heated and the other is cooled, a small amount of electricity is generated. The greater the temperature variation, the more electricity that can be generated.
These solid-state "Seebeck effect" generators are already being used to transform waste heat from industrial processes into low-cost and low-carbon electricity – simply attach these devices to a hot surface, and they generate electricity without any moving parts.
"This technology is projected to continue to grow quickly as an energy efficiency technology in industry, electronics, and transportation," DOE wrote in the tellurium section of its Critical Materials report.
The thermoelectric devices being developed by PyroDelta are demonstrating the potential to be significantly more efficient, withstanding far wider temperature extremes than traditional thermoelectric devices. The higher efficiency means more electricity generated from smaller heat variances, and the ability to withstand wider thermal extremes translates to wider thermoelectric applications.
Improving efficiency and lowering emissions from transportation is one area where PyroDelta sees its tellurium-based thermoelectric generators having an immediate impact.
As a first step, the company is testing the use of its devices to replace both the alternator and radiator in traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.
"A primary market for us currently is in automotive applications as a thermoelectric radiator, generating electricity from the heat differential of the hot liquid going through the thermoelectric pipe while air cools it from the outside," said Docherty.
Eliminating the alternator, which is driven by the engine, is expected to result in significant fuel savings. There is the prospect that if this device generated enough electricity from engine heat, it could also charge batteries for more efficient hybrid vehicles.
Tellurium-based generators' ability to convert temperature variances to electricity is also showing the potential to improve the efficiency of EVs and solar panels.
PyroDelta is also developing a lightweight and compact thermoelectric generator that leverages the cooling effect of propellor downwash to generate electricity that extends the range of drones for civilian and military use.
"Our research and development is aimed at producing a thermoelectric device that fits seamlessly into existing commercial drone systems, without modification," said Docherty. "We believe this feature offers a significant advantage for drone industry adoption and deployment."
The idea of temperature differences created by propellor downwash generating enough electricity to keep a drone flying longer speaks to the wide possibilities of tellurium-based thermoelectric devices.
It also raises the question, "Would a thermoelectric device with one side made from material that conducted heat and the other side made from material that deflects heat be a perpetual clean energy generator?"
So far, however, a tellurium-based perpetual thermoelectric generator has not made the leap from science fiction to science fact.
The world-changing potential of the thermoelectric devices being pioneered by PyroDelta is attracting a lot of interest from organizations on a mission to push forward scientific progress in the U.S.
PyroDelta's tellurium-based thermoelectric generators are solid-state devices that convert temperature differences on opposite sides of the device into clean, low-cost electricity.
This includes RESOLVE Inc., a Washington, DC-based non-governmental organization focused on solutions that bridge the gap between people and the planet, which has entered into a partnership with PyroDelta to bring the thermoelectric device to market.
"RESOLVE's mission is to forge sustainable solutions to critical social, health, and environmental challenges by creating innovative partnerships," said Docherty. "This new venture aligns perfectly with that mission."
Under this partnership, RESOLVE is securing up to US$29 million to fund a three-phase strategy for manufacturing, marketing, and selling PyroDelta's generators.
Another exciting opportunity is an invitation for PyroDelta to submit a funding proposal to the National Science Foundation's Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer program.
"The NSF grant would be of great value to us, not only for the dilution-free funding, but also because the NSF is highly respected in the U.S. for backing top-quality innovations," said Docherty. "Their seal of approval would open other doors for collaboration and partnerships."
The National Science Foundation grant being applied for by PyroDelta will support the advancement of its thermoelectric devices to enhance solar systems, especially where space is limited.
"As we've reported over the past six months, the device offers many potential applications for generating clean, renewable energy, particularly for solar, as well as conventional and electric vehicles and a range of industrial uses," said Doherty.
The interest from the National Science Foundation, RESOLVE, and DOD underscores the game-changing clean energy promise offered by the future-leaning technologies being pioneered by First Tellurium and its partners.
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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