The Impact of Magnetic Materials in Renewable Energy-Related Technologies in the 21st Century Industrial Revolution: The Case of South Africa

Table 1

A summary of selected rare-earth elements, applications, and criticality to clean energy [2].

Atomic no.	Name	Type	Selected applications	Crustal abundance (ppm)	Criticality to clean energy: short/medium term
57	Lanthanum	Light	Battery alloys, lasers, phosphors	31	Near critical/not critical
58	Cerium	Light	Ni-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries for hybrid/electric vehicles, phosphor powders	63	Near critical/not critical
59	Praseodymium	Light	Permanent magnets, NiMH batteries, photographic filters	7.1	Not critical/not critical
60	Neodymium	Light	Permanent magnets, lasers, astronomical instruments	27	Critical/critical
62	Samarium	Light	Permanent magnets, reactor control rods	4.7	Not critical/not critical
65	Terbium	Heavy	Permanent magnets, lighting and display phosphors	0.7	Critical/critical
66	Dysprosium	Heavy	Permanent magnets, lasers, lighting	3.9	Critical/critical
67	Holmium	Heavy	Magnets	0.83	N/A/N/A
69	Thulium	Heavy	Magnets	0.3	N/A/N/A