Environmental Implications of Production Location and Method on Energy Materials: The Case of Tellurium

The US Te demand is expected to increase with growing domestic Cadmium-Telluride (CdTe) solar production. Over the past decade, the US halved its tellurium import reliance and started producing tellurium domestically, affecting both the Te production method and location. The environmental implications of these factors remain unclear. Additionally, the environmental impact of tellurium in the literature doesn't reflect the production processes used in the industry, potentially underestimating the environmental impact of Te and CdTe solar panels. This work uses life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental impact of tellurium production from copper anode slime via hydro- and hydro-pyrometallurgical processing in North America and China. The results show that producing tellurium via hydro-pyrometallurgy in North America leads to the lowest environmental impact. The current study shows that the literature underestimates CdTe solar panels' freshwater toxicity and abiotic depletion potential by 35% and 50%, respectively.