Tellurium is a rare metalloid used in photovoltaics and thermoelectrics, instrumental in developing technologies that convert heat and sunlight into usable energy. It is mostly found in alloys, often combined with copper or stainless steel to improve strength and corrosion resistance. In its pure form, tellurium is rare and found in the Earth's crust. Umicore recovers it from anode slimes during copper refining, scrap from BiTe manufacturing, and end-of-life solar panels, keeping this critical material in use.
