# Cadmium

A toxic zinc by-product once dominated by batteries and pigments, now finding a second life in thin-film cadmium-telluride solar panels.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/

Tech & minor metals · No. 45

- India critical 2023
- HHI 2,044 · moderately concentrated
 Tech & minor metals · Foundation · Matter

Zinc ores hold only about 0.03% cadmium, yet that trace now feeds thin-film solar panels as well as NiCd batteries.

Chart: Illustration: Cadmium

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Nobody mines for cadmium. It stands in for zinc in sphalerite at about 0.03%, and zinc smelters strip it out while purifying their zinc solution.

##### Three things to know

1. World cadmium sales in 2014 came to only about $43 million, a tiny market by metal standards.
2. The leading US CdTe panel maker expected about 14 GW a year of domestic capacity once its fifth plant ramps up in 2026.
3. The EU scores cadmium's supply risk at just 0.2, and only India's 2023 list calls it critical; the bigger issues are toxicity and surplus.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Zinc ore**Sphalerite with about 0.03% cadmium
2. 2 **Smelting**Roasted and leached at zinc smelters
3. 3 **Purification**Cadmium stripped from zinc solution residues
4. 4 **Refining**Cast as 99.95% metal
5. 5 **End uses**NiCd batteries, CdTe panels, pigments, plating
 Covered in [What makes something a commodityCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/what-is-a-commodity/)[Criticality and geopoliticsCommodities](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/commodities/criticality-and-geopolitics/)

##### Go deeper pick a tab to open it in full

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/correlation/index.md)
- [Extraction](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/extraction/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/production/index.md)
- [Stocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/stocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/movement/index.md)
- [Criticality](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/criticality/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/commodities/cadmium/links/index.md)