The hidden hand

The glass decolorizer powering solar panels

Selenium's dual life in consumer goods and advanced energy tech masks a geopolitical supply tension in its largest producer.

The number

51% of China's soils selenium-deficient

Selenium appears mundane—a decolorizer for glassware, an active ingredient in dandruff shampoo. But the same element is essential to CIGS thin-film solar panels, military blasting caps, and steel production. China's dominance as the world's largest selenium producer is undercut by severe domestic soil deficiency, forcing it to compete with export demands from its own agricultural sector.

Source: Selenium and Tellurium — USGS Statistics and Information · USGS · Jan 1, 2025

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