Technology-critical element

A technology-critical element (TCE) is a chemical element that is critical to modern and emerging technologies. Technology-critical elements are elements for which a striking acceleration in usage has emerged, relative to past consumption. Many advanced engineering applications, such as clean-energy production, communications and computing, use emergent technologies that utilize numerous chemical elements. Other similar terms used in literature include: critical elements, critical materials, critical raw materials, energy critical elements and elements of security. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) created the Critical Materials Institute (CMI) to address the issue. In 2015, the European COST Action TD1407 created a network of scientists working and interested on TCEs, from an environmental perspective to potential human health threats. A study estimated losses of 61 metals to help the development of circular economy strategies, showing that usespans of, often scarce, tech-critical metals are short. The set of elements usually considered as TCEs vary depending on the source, but they usually include: Seventeen rare-earth elements The six platinum-group elements Twelve assorted elements TCEs have a variety of engineering applications in fields such as energy storage, electronics, telecommunication, and transportation. These elements are utilized in cellular phones, batteries, solar panel(s), electric motor(s), and fiber-optic cables. Emerging technologies also incorporate TCEs. Most notably, TCEs are used in the data networking of smart devices tied to the Internet of Things (IoT) and automation. The extraction and processing of TCEs may cause adverse environmental impacts. The reliance on TCEs and critical metals like cobalt can run the risk of the “green curse,” or using certain metals in green technologies whose mining may be damaging to the environment. The clearing of soil and deforestation that is involved with mining can impact the surrounding biodiversity through land degradation and habitat loss.