CMI researchers from Idaho National Laboratory conducted the activity for this highlight
Innovation
Assessed the global impacts of deploying CMI’s Al-Ce alloy technology on three different types of Ce commodities: Ce carbonate, Ce oxide, and Ce metal.
Achievement
Developed a system dynamics model to investigate the global supply chain impacts of a new Al-Ce alloy on the three types of Ce commodities.
Significance and Impact
- Among the three alternatives, Ce oxide could be the most economical input material for Al-Ce alloy since its larger market size buffers major shocks to the price.
- Use of Ce could address an imbalance problem in the rare earth elements (REEs) market, as Ce is relatively abundant and less valuable, which has been confirmed by the supply chain model.
Hub Target Addressed
- Developing supply chain analysis tools.
- Comparison of the total global Ce market size based on the form of Ce used as an input material for the Al-Ce alloy.