Indium Demand Research Articles

Modeling Indium Extraction, Supply, Price, Use and Recycling 1930–2200 Using the WORLD7 Model: Implication for the Imaginaries of Sustainable Europe 2050

The increasing need for indium in photovoltaic technologies is set to exceed available supply. Current estimates suggest only 25% of global solar cell demand for indium can be met, posing a significant challenge for the energy transition. Using the WORLD7 model, this study evaluated the sustainability of indium production and overall market supply. The model considers both mass balance and the dynamic interplay of supply–demand in determining indium prices. It is estimated that a total of 312,000 tons of indium can be extracted. However, the primary hindrance to supply is the availability of extraction opportunities and the necessary infrastructure. Unless we improve production capacity, indium may face shortages, hindering the advancement of pivotal technologies. A concern observed is the insufficient rate of indium recycling. Boosting this could greatly alleviate supply pressures. Projections indicate that indium production will reach its peak between 2025 and 2030, while the peak for photovoltaic solar panels due to indium shortages is anticipated around 2090, with an installed capacity of 1200 GW. Thus, the growth of photovoltaic capacity may lag behind actual demand. For a sustainable future, understanding the role of essential metals like indium is crucial. The European Environment Agency (EEA) introduced four “imaginaries” depicting visions of a sustainable Europe by 2050 (SE2050), each representing a unique future set within specific parameters. Currently, Europe is heavily dependent on imports for tech metals and has limited recycling capabilities, putting it at a disadvantage in a global context. To achieve sustainability, there is a need for improved infrastructure for extraction, recycling, and conservation of metals such as indium. These resources are crucial for realizing Europe’s 2050 sustainability objectives. Furthermore, understanding the role of these metals in wider overarching strategies is vital for envisioning a sustainable European Union by 2050, as depicted in the Imaginaries.

Material efficiency strategies across the industrial chain to secure indium availability for global carbon neutrality

A global energy transition toward carbon neutrality system requires increased critical metals, and the availability of critical byproduct metals raises concerns due to their dependence on host metals. To ensure the supply security of critical byproduct metals, material efficiency (ME) strategies are needed. Taking indium as an example, this paper explores the indium availability for global energy transition goals, and then illustrates the effects of ME strategies on securing indium availability throughout the whole industry chain. The system dynamics model serves to understand the joint production mechanism of zinc-indium and the nexus between energy transition and indium demand. Results show that the indium supply shortage for global energy transition could be intensified due to a less zinc-intensive economy. To address this challenge, focusing on indium demand reduction is more effective than emphasizing expanding indium supply for global sustainable development goals and material content reduction is the most promising strategy among the five ME strategies. Whereas, eliminating the concerns of indium availability thoroughly for facilitating a carbon neutrality transition requires coordinated ME strategies both from supply-side and demand-side. Moreover, the proposed analysis framework of ME strategies for securing indium availability for energy transition could also be applied for other byproduct metals.

Securing Indium Utilization for High-Tech and Renewable Energy Industries.

Indium has emerged as a strategic metal for high-tech and renewable industries, being catalogued as a critical material to foster a greener future. Nevertheless, its global sustainability is not well addressed. Here, using dynamic substance flow analysis, we study the indium industry evolution between 2010 and 2020 and estimate its future demand in the medium and long term toward 2050 to identify potential paths and mechanisms to decrease indium losses and to identify the key stages in its life cycle. As electronics and photovoltaic industries will play a crucial role in the indium demand, we assess their indium demand employing three cumulative photovoltaic capacity scenarios (8.5, 14, and 60 TW by 2050) with different dominant photovoltaic sub-technologies. Results show that liquid-crystal displays and photovoltaic panels will drive indium future demand, increasing its current demand by 2.2-4.2, 2.6-7.0, and 6.8-38.3 times for the 8.5, 14, and 60 TW scenarios, respectively, threatening with shortages that could occur as early as the next decade. Therefore, measures to reduce losses in primary production, innovations and improvements in electronics and solar panels, and indium recycling with an effective circular economy strategy could promote and secure the future sustainability of indium.

Constraints on the Formation of Granite-Related Indium Deposits

Abstract The use of indium in modern technologies has grown in recent decades, creating a growth in indium demand; thus, there is a need to constrain the spatial and temporal distribution of indium-bearing, granite-related deposits. Toward this end, a conceptual model and exploration vectors for the formation of granite-related indium deposits have been developed. The magmatic-hydrothermal system is modeled by consideration of crystal-melt and vapor-melt equilibria. The model calculates the efficiency of removal of indium from a melt into a volatile phase, which may serve as a component of an ore-forming fluid. The results of the model suggest that as the proportion of ferromagnesian minerals increases in the associated granites, the probability of indium ore formation decreases. Further, for a given modal proportion of ferromagnesian minerals, as the modal proportion of amphibole increases, the probability of indium ore formation decreases. Lastly, for a given modal proportion of biotite, as the magnesium content of the biotite increases (as would result from increasing oxidation of the magmatic system), the probability of indium ore formation decreases. Granites with the highest probability of being associated with indium ore formation will typically be part of A- or S-type igneous systems and will likely be highly fractionated (e.g., A-type topaz granites). I-type granites will generally have a lower potential of being associated with indium-bearing deposits. However, some I-type granites may be associated with indium-bearing deposits if the deposits contain granites (sensu stricto) or other related rocks (e.g., alaskites) that lack amphibole or other ferromagnesian phases.

Partitioning of indium between ferromagnesian minerals and a silicate melt

Indium demand has increased with the development of new 21st century technologies. The association of indium deposits with felsic igneous rocks suggests a need for increased research on the behavior of indium in magmatic-hydrothermal systems. In order to better understand the relationship between igneous processes and the formation of indium-bearing deposits, experiments have been conducted at 750 and 800 °C and 100 MPa to constrain the partitioning of indium between ferromagnesian (biotite and amphibole) minerals and felsic melts. The partition coefficient DInBt/Melt ranges from 0.6 ± 0.1 (1 σm (standard deviation of the mean)) to 16 ± 3 (1 σm). The variation in DInBt/Melt is a function of XAnniteBt (the proportion of Fe2+ in the octahedral site), tetrahedral aluminum, and titanium, such that DInBt/Melt decreases with increasing XAnniteBt, tetrahedral aluminum, and titanium. DInAmp/Melt has a mean of 36 ± 4 (1 σm) and composition has only a minor effect on the magnitude of DInAmp/Melt. Additionally, an aqueous volatile phase was recovered from select experiments, which provides an initial constraint on DInVapor/Melt. DInVapor/Melt can be influenced by the chlorine content of both the vapor and melt, and is estimated to be ~17 ± 5 (1 σm). Theoretical considerations suggest that DInBt/Melt can be affected above and beyond the effect of XAnniteBt by water fugacity and the activity of the sanidine component in the system. Theoretical considerations suggest that DInAmp/Melt can be affected by the activities of diopside, anorthite, and enstatite in the system and the fugacity of water. These results suggest that the amount of magmatically-derived indium available for ore formation is a function of the proportion of ferromagnesian minerals in the crystallization products of the magma.

The world’s by-product and critical metal resources part III: A global assessment of indium

Indium has considerable technological and economic value to society due to its use in solar panels and liquid crystal displays for computers, television and mobile devices. Yet, without reliable estimates of known and potentially exploitable indium resources, our ability to sustainably manage the supply of this critical metal is limited. Here, we present the results of a rigorous, deposit-by-deposit assessment of the global resources of indium using a new methodology developed for the assessment of critical metals outlined in Part II of this study (Werner et al., 2017). We establish that at least 356kt of indium are present within 1512 known mineral deposits of varying deposit types, including VMS, skarn, epithermal and sediment-hosted Pb-Zn deposits. A total of 101 of these deposits have reported indium contents (some 76 kt of contained In) with the remaining 1411 deposits having mineralogical associations that indicate they are indium-bearing, yielding ∼280kt of contained indium. An additional 219 deposits contain known indium enrichments but have unquantifiable contents, indicating that our global resource figure of 356kt of contained indium is therefore most certainly a minimum. A limited number of case studies also indicates that a further minimum of ∼24kt indium is present in mine wastes, a total that is undoubtedly smaller than reality given the minimal reporting of mine waste indium concentrations, and the extensive volume of historical mine wastes.These quantities are sufficient to meet demand for indium this century, assuming current and projected levels of consumption. However, given indium’s classification as a critical metal, its supply still remains a concern, and hence we have also discussed the economic viability and spatial distribution of the indium resources identified during this study to further our understanding of the geopolitical scarcity of this critical metal. Our results suggest that the global indium supply chain is fairly adaptable, primarily as the spatial distribution of indium resources deviates significantly from the current supply chains for this metal. Our study provides a stronger basis for future studies of indium criticality, provenance, supply chain dynamics, and stocks and flows in the fields of economic geology and industrial ecology.

In-bearing potential of tin‒sulfide mineralization in ore deposits of the Russian Far East

The increased demand for indium has made it necessary to revise prospects of In-bearing tin ore deposits in the Russian Far East on the basis of geological data and results of recent analytical methods (X-ray fluorescence with synchrotron radiation, atomic absorption, and ICP-MS). The average In contents in ores of the Tigrinoe and Pravourmiiskoe deposits vary from 55 to 70 ppm, which allows tin ore deposits with Sn‒sulfide mineralization to be considered as quite promising with respect to In production from ores of Russian deposits. By their estimated In reserves, the Tigrinoe and Pravourmiiskoe deposits may be attributed to large ore objects.

Secondary indium production from end‐of‐life liquid crystal displays

AbstractIn 2014, the European Union identified 20 raw materials critical for economic importance and high supply risk. Indium, used in several innovative technologies, is among such critical raw materials. Generally, it is mined as a by‐product of zinc from a mineral named sphalerite, with a concentration between 1 and 100 ppm. Currently, the largest producer of indium is China and about 84% of the worldwide indium consumption is used for liquid crystal display (LCD) production, in particular to form an indium‐tin‐oxide (ITO) film with transparent conductor properties. The fast evolution of LCD technologies caused a double effect: the growth of indium demand and an increase of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Considering these two factors, the aim of this study is to make the end‐of‐life LCDs a secondary indium resource. With this purpose, an indium recovery process was developed carrying out an acidic leaching, followed by a zinc cementation. The first step allowed a complete indium extraction using 2M sulfuric acid at 80 °C for 10 min. The problem of low indium concentration in the scraps (around 150 ppm) was overcome using a cross‐current configuration in the leaching phase that allowed an increase of metal concentration and a decrease of reagents consumption. An indium recovery higher than 90% was obtained in the final cementation step, using 5 g/L of zinc powder at pH 3 and 55 °C for 10 min. Considering its high efficiency, this process is promising in a context of circular economy, where a waste becomes a resource. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

System Dynamics Modeling of Indium Material Flows under Wide Deployment of Clean Energy Technologies

Clean energy technologies represent a promising solution to the global warming challenge. Many clean energy technologies, however, depend on some rare materials and concerns have been raised recently. Indium is one of these materials as it is critical for two emerging energy applications, that is, Copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) photovoltaics (PV) and light-emitting diode (LED) lighting. This study analyzes the supply and demand of indium under different energy and technology development scenarios using a dynamic material flow analysis approach. A system dynamics model is developed to capture the time-changing stocks and flows related to supply and demand of indium over a 50-year time period, while considering carrier metal (i.e. zinc) production, price elasticity of demand, and indium usage in other applications (mainly liquid crystal display). Simulation results indicate that a shortage on indium is likely to occur in a short time period even under favorite case of indium supply. The rapid expansion of CIGS technology dominates indium demand in about 14 years, which outruns the growth of zinc mine production (thus indium supply). Sensitivity analysis suggests that model parameters related to solar PV market penetration, CIGS technology advancement, and price elasticity of indium demand have large effects on the total indium demand over simulation period. Eight scenarios combining projections on solar PV market growth, technology advancement, and zinc mine production are explored. It is observed that only under conservative estimates of solar PV market growth there is relatively enough indium supply to support the deployment. Even in these scenarios a shortage may occur toward the end of simulation.

An evaluation of the potential yield of indium recycled from end-of-life LCDs: A case study in China

With the advances in electronics and information technology, China has gradually become the largest consumer of household appliances (HAs). Increasingly, end-of-life (EOL) HAs are generated in China. EOL recycling is a promising strategy to reduce dependence on virgin production, and indium is one of the recycled substances. The potential yield of indium recycling has not been systematically evaluated in China thus far. This paper estimates the potential yield of recycled indium from waste liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in China during the period from 2015 to 2030. The quantities of indium that will be used to produce LCDs are also predicted. The estimates focus on the following three key LCD waste sources: LCD TVs, desktop computers and portable computers. The results show that the demand for indium will be increasing in the near future. It is expected that 350 tonnes of indium will be needed to produce LCDs in China in 2035. The indium recycled from EOL LCDs, however, is much less than the demand and only accounts for approximately 48% of the indium demand. The sustainable index of indium is always less than 0.5. Therefore, future indium recycling efforts should focus on the development of recycling technology and the improvement of the relevant policy.

Rethinking China's strategic mineral policy on indium: implication for the flat screens and photovoltaic industries

AbstractIndium is an indispensable component of many products, especially the liquid crystal displays (LCD) flat screens (FS) and thin film photovoltaic (PV) cells. China is the world's largest producer of primary indium and products containing indium. Despite this, there has been relatively little examination of the scarcity and strategic mineral policy for indium. Using a material flow analysis approach, a dynamic model has been built to quantify the indium flows, availability, and scarcity in China. The results show that China has transitioned from primarily exporting indium to primarily consuming indium. Forecasting until the year 2020, the domestic demand is led by LCD televisions and monitors (74%), followed by laptops (8%), and PV cells (5%). Accumulated use of indium in production from 2011 to 2020 could reach 7800 t, that is close to China's estimated 2008 reserves and represents three‐fourths of the world's current total reserves. Despite this, end of life (EoL) recycling is forecasted to be too insignificant to influence the indium market supply in the short term. Therefore, by the year around 2020, China could face a serious shortage of both primary production and EoL‐recovered indium to meet the production demand. From a long‐term perspective, the world's development and installation of thin‐film PV modules could be significantly threatened because indium demand within PV modules could grow rapidly over the coming decades. A promising solution to prevent an indium shortage in China is to promote the urban mining of indium from the EoL FS and PV industries. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Indium: key issues in assessing mineral resources and long-term supply from recycling

Indium and other geologically scarce metals are routinely integrated into green technologies and modern consumer electronics. The manufacture of solar cells and liquid crystal displays (LCDs) relies strongly on continued indium supply, yet very little research has been conducted to determine what total resources exist to meet future or even present needs. This paper provides an improved understanding of the nature of indium resources and the current and future production and supply of this critical metal through a summary of global trends in indium production and demand, and through a preliminary account of global code-based reporting of indium mineral resources. Authors also present an overview of the potential for indium extraction from mine wastes and recycled electronics using Canadian and Australian case studies. Our preliminary data suggest that considerable resources are likely to exist in a diversity of deposits globally, which have the potential to meet long-term demand for indium. However, it is clear that a secured future supply of this metal will require some shift of focus from conventional extraction practices. It will be necessary to revisit controls on the conversion of resources to reserves and to supply and the discovery of additional resources to replace those depleted by continuing production. The prospects for indium supply from mine wastes and recycled electronics are found to be substantial, and these sources warrant greater consideration given their probable environmental and social advantages over the discovery and development of new primary indium deposits.

Linking energy scenarios with metal demand modeling–The case of indium in CIGS solar cells

Some renewable energy technologies rely on the functionalities provided by geochemically scarce metals. One example are CIGS solar cells, an emerging thin film photovoltaic technology, which contain indium. In this study we model global future indium demand related to the implementation of various energy scenarios and assess implications for the supply system. Influencing parameters of the demand model are either static or dynamic and include technology shares, technological progress and handling in the anthroposphere. Parameters’ levels reflect pessimistic, reference, and optimistic development. The demand from other indium containing products is roughly estimated. For the reference case, the installed capacity of CIGS solar cells ranges from 12 to 387GW in 2030 (31–1401GW in 2050), depending on the energy scenario chosen. This translates to between 485 and 15,724tonnes of primary indium needed from 2000 to 2030 (789–30,556tonnes through 2050). One scenario exemplifies that optimistic assumptions for technological progress and handling in the anthroposphere can reduce cumulative primary indium demand by 43% until 2050 compared to the reference case, while with pessimistic assumptions the demand increases by about a factor of five. To meet the future indium demand, several options to increase supply are discussed: (1) expansion of zinc metal provision (indium is currently a by-product of zinc mining), (2) improving extraction efficiency, (3) new mining activities where indium is a by-product of other metals and (4) mining of historic residues. Potential future constraints and environmental impacts of these supply options are also briefly discussed.

Improved electrode performance in gallium nitride LEDs

Light-emitting diodes based on III-nitride semiconductors have made their way into applications such as backlighting for displays, and solid-state white lighting. High-power LEDs with efficacies larger than conventional fluorescent lamps are now commercially available, bringing the world closer toward the realization of energy-efficient solid-state lighting.1, 2 However, despite significant breakthroughs in light extraction and internal quantum efficiencies, the formation of low resistance, transparent ohmic contact to the highly resistive p-GaN (gallium nitride) layer continues to be a challenge.3 Modern commercial LEDs employ either translucent nickel-gold or indium tin oxide (ITO) as a transparent conductive electrode. Nevertheless, the low transparency of a nickel-gold stack—as well as increasing concerns over the soaring prices and future demand for indium—have initiated a search for an alternative material.4 In addition, next-generation LEDs require transparent conductive electrodes to be flexible (unlike ITO, which is brittle), cheap, and compatible with large-scale manufacturing methods. Graphene, the most recently discovered form of carbon, offers exceptional characteristics such as high transparency, mechanical flexibility, and superior thermal and electrical conductivities.5, 6 Despite its comparatively high sheet resistance (Rs/, recent work has shown that graphene can be applied to the p-GaN layer in GaN-based LEDs as a transparent conductive electrode in place of ITO.7 However, because of the large difference in work function (ˆ), integrating pristine graphene directly with p-GaN forms a Schottky barrier height (SBH, q®B ) at the interface. A large SBH is undesirable because it can create low contact resistance, which leads to strong current crowding and a high operating voltage. Figure 1.Ultraviolet photoelectron spectra of pristine and doped—with 10 and 20mM solutions of gold (III) chloride (AuCl3)—multilayer graphene (MLG) films. The inset bar diagram shows the variation in work function versus AuCl3 concentration. a.u.: Arbitrary units.

パーコレーションモデルを用いた電導薄膜の材料設計：インジウム使用量削減をめざして

Due to its electronic conductivity and transparency, Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) is an irreplaceable material for today's technology, such as various flat panel displays. The resultant increase of the demand for indium is a major concern, but can be solved by understanding the detail of electronic conduction in ITO. For this purpose, we are working on a computational physics research on ITO: a model analysis of thin film with reduced amount of indium as a percolation model. Because ITO is typically formed into thin film electrodes in its applications, we are currently focused on 2D percolation models.

Al- and Al:In-Doped ZnO Thin Films Deposited by RF Magnetron Sputtering for Spacecraft Charge Mitigation

We investigate the utility of impurity-doped ZnO as charge-mitigating thin films for spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit. Satellite solar panel cover glass and thermal control blankets are commonly coated in tin-doped indium oxide which serves as a leakage path for accumulated surface charge. The increase in demand for indium has generated interest in alternative space-stable satellite coatings. We demonstrate the orbital stability of Al- and Al:In-doped ZnO exposed to a high-energy electron flux and simulated solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

The Removal of Tin from ITO-scrap Using Molten NaOH

Indium demand has grown abruptly in the last few years at an average of ten percent per year. Consumption of indium is expected to increase throughout the next decade, especially by dint of growth for liquid crystal displays, high-definition television, semiconductor materials, batteries, low-temperature solders, and electronic application. Indium is used in various forms such as indium oxide/indium-tin oxide, indium metal and alloy, and indium compounds. 1,2 Indium-tin oxide (ITO) formed by doping indium oxide with approximately 10% of tin oxide, increases both electrical conductivity without significantly affecting transparency. Flat panel display applications for indium in the form of ITO are the most important end uses, more than onehalf of the world , s indium consumption. ITO, which has a high optical transparency and a high electrical conductivity, has been used as transparent electrodes for flat panel displays. ITO films are generally fabricated by DC magnetron sputtering using ITO ceramic target. Magnetron sputtering is favoured because it is easily applied to large area with good uniformity. However, ITO targets should be replaced before a large portion of ITO material (60-70%) has been used because of race track formation. 3-5 So, it might be said that the recycling of unused ITO target is indispensable as indium is a trace element and very expensive. As shown in In1.82Sn0.18O3 obtained by doping indium oxide with approximately 10% of tin oxide, tin is the major impurity in recovery process of indium metal from ITO target-scrap. Indium and tin are chemically very similar and separation one from the other in solution is a knotty problem. Tin has been removed from residue of acetate leaching by chemical replacement with zinc in 5-20% HCl. 6 Another method concerns neutralization of solutions containing tin to pH 1 followed by cementation with indium 7,8 or by treating with NaOH to a pH value of 2.8. 9,10 In this paper, I demonstrate a new method to remove tin and purify indium metal from ITO target scrap using molten NaOH.

Chelex-100キレート樹脂を用いる前処理と誘導結合プラズマ質量分析法による日本近海及び太平洋の海水中インジウムの定量

Recentry, the demand for indium (In) is increasing mainly due to its use for electrodes of liquid crystal displays. In is toxic and causes the sickness and vomiting in the case of oral intake. Thus, the determination of In in sea water is important since In is accumulated in marine creatures and is finally taken into human beings. Therefore, the concentration of In in the seawater around Japan and the north eastern Pacific Ocean was measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). As a pretreatment, a Chelex-100 chelating resin method was used. 115In was used for a measurement by MS, and a high background signal was observed when the eluent was heated with hydrochloric acid to vaporize the ammonium ion so as to remove the interference by magnesium and calcium in sea-water samples. This high background is presumably due to Ar2Cl+ polyatomic ion because a background intensity was very low when N2-MIP-MS was used to determine In. However, the high background signal greatly decreased upon heating the solution with HNO3 (1+1) before preparing the final solution for the measurement by MS. The results obtained by the proposed method were compared with those by solvent extraction with APDC-HMAHMDC/xylene, and the results using both methods were in a good agreement with each other. The concentrations of In around Japan were considerably different between the sampling points. However, the results in the Pacific Ocean were almost equal over a wide sea area. The concentration of In (including around Japan and the Pacific Ocean) was in the ranges of 0.08∼0.72 ng/L and the relative standard deviations of the results were 8.3%∼37.5%.

日本におけるフラットパネルディスプレイ用途のインジウムの物質フロー分析

Substance flow analysis (SFA) of indium has been conducted in this study. The purpose of this study is to identify the relevant issues for the development of an efficient indium recycling system by performing SFA of indium supplied for ITO processing as transparent electrodes, which accounts for 86.9% of the total indium demand. In this study, as part of the development of substance and material flow data, (1) data on the flow of indium was collected and reviewed, (2) the amount of dissipated indium associated with the production of flat-panel displays (FPDs) were estimated and (3) its environmental impact was also assessed. The major conclusions are (a) 470 t-In is used in ITO for transparent electrodes, out of which 220 t-In is dissipated or potentially dissipated in Japan, and (b) 220 t-In of dissipated indium is equivalent to 11.4 TJ of energy consumption, 0.5×103 t of CO2 emissions, and 1.0×106 t of Total Materials Requirement (TMR).

Substance Flow Analysis of Indium for Flat Panel Displays in Japan

Substance flow analysis (SFA) of indium has been conducted in this study. The purpose of this study is to identify the relevant issues for the development of an efficient indium recycling system by performing SFA of indium supplied for indium-tin oxide (ITO) processing as transparent electrodes, which accounts for 86.9% of the total indium demand. In this study, as part of the development of substance and material flow data, (1) data on the flow of indium was collected and reviewed, (2) the amount of dissipated indium associated with the production of flat-panel displays (FPDs) were estimated and (3) its environmental impact was also assessed.The major conclusions are (a) 470 t-In is used in ITO for transparent electrodes, out of which 220 t-In is dissipated or potentially dissipated in Japan, and (b) 220 t-In of dissipated indium is equivalent to 11.4 TJ of energy consumption, 0.5×103 t of CO2 emissions, and 1.0×106 t of Total Materials Requirement (TMR).