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Tellurium Price — 10-Day Trend Behind the Demand Story
All prices in ₹ per gram · daily rate, updated once per day
What Tellurium Is Actually Used For Today
Ask what tellurium is used for and there's really one dominant answer: cadmium telluride, or CdTe, thin-film solar panels. This is a real, established solar technology, not an experimental one — it stands as a genuine alternative to the far more common silicon-based solar panel, and First Solar is a well-known, real manufacturer that has built its business around it.
This single application is exactly why tellurium has gone from an obscure specialty element to a name that occasionally shows up in solar-industry and critical-minerals news. Today's benchmark rate of ₹10.42 per gram is, in a real sense, tied to how much CdTe solar manufacturing capacity is running at any given time.
- Dominant use today: cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar panels
- Smaller, ongoing uses: alloying additive for steel and copper, thermoelectric materials
- Why tellurium specifically: its semiconductor properties suit thin-film solar-cell manufacturing
Tellurium Price by Weight
Today's Tellurium rate is Ten Rupees per gram. At this rate, 10 grams of Tellurium costs One Hundred and Four Rupees.
| Unit | Weight | Price (INR) | Price in Words |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Gram | 1.0000 g | ₹10.42 | Ten Rupees |
| 8 Grams | 8.0000 g | ₹83.33 | Eighty Three Rupees |
| 10 Grams | 10.0000 g | ₹104.16 | One Hundred and Four Rupees |
| 100 Grams | 100.0000 g | ₹1,041.57 | One Thousand Forty Two Rupees |
| 1 Kilogram | 1,000.0000 g | ₹10,415.66 | Ten Thousand Four Hundred and Sixteen Rupees |
| 1 Ounce (oz) | 28.3495 g | ₹295.28 | Two Hundred and Ninety Five Rupees |
| 1 Troy Ounce | 31.1035 g | ₹323.96 | Three Hundred and Twenty Four Rupees |
| 1 Metric Ton | 1,000,000.0000 g | ₹10,415,662.00 | One Crore Four Lakh Fifteen Thousand Six Hundred and Sixty Two Rupees |
Why Solar Panels Specifically Need Tellurium
Cadmium telluride has semiconductor properties that make it well suited to absorbing sunlight and converting it into electricity in a thin-film format — meaning the light-absorbing layer can be extremely thin compared to a traditional silicon solar cell. That thin-film approach is part of what makes CdTe panels a genuinely cost-competitive alternative path to solar power, not simply a niche curiosity sitting alongside the dominant silicon technology.
Beyond solar: alloys and thermoelectrics
Away from solar panels, tellurium plays a smaller but real role as an alloying additive. Adding a small amount to certain steel and copper alloys improves their machinability, making the metal easier and cheaper to cut, drill and shape during manufacturing — a practical, unglamorous use that has existed for decades. Tellurium also shows up in some thermoelectric materials, which generate electricity directly from a temperature difference rather than from moving parts, a niche but genuine application in specialized power-generation equipment.
None of these secondary uses come close to matching CdTe solar's share of total tellurium demand, but they provide a floor of steady industrial demand that exists independent of the solar-panel cycle.
Tellurium Price — Last 10 Days
The most recent Tellurium price on record (2026-09-17) is Ten Rupees per gram. This is up by Less than One Rupees from the previous day's rate of ₹10.39.
| Date | Price (INR/g) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-17 | ₹10.42 | +0.02 |
| 2026-09-16 | ₹10.39 | +0.00 |
| 2026-09-15 | ₹10.39 | +0.01 |
| 2026-09-14 | ₹10.37 | +0.02 |
| 2026-09-13 | ₹10.36 | +0.00 |
| 2026-09-12 | ₹10.36 | +0.01 |
| 2026-09-11 | ₹10.35 | -0.01 |
| 2026-09-10 | ₹10.36 | +0.05 |
| 2026-09-09 | ₹10.31 | +0.04 |
| 2026-09-08 | ₹10.27 | — |
What This Demand Concentration Means Going Forward
Having one dominant use case is a double-edged reality for tellurium, the same way it is for lithium and its battery-demand story. On one hand, it gives the market a clear, powerful growth engine — as global solar installation keeps expanding and CdTe technology holds its share against silicon panels, the fundamental case for rising tellurium demand over time remains straightforward to state. On the other hand, it means tellurium's price is more directly exposed to the fortunes of one industry, and one specific panel technology within that industry, than a metal with dozens of independent end uses would be.
This demand concentration sits on top of an unusual supply picture too, since tellurium is recovered from copper refining rather than mined for its own sake. Anyone trying to understand tellurium's price behavior over time is really trying to understand both sides of that equation — the CdTe solar demand story explained here, and the copper-byproduct supply story explained on the site's why is tellurium so rare page.
What Is Tellurium Used For — FAQs
Overwhelmingly for cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film solar panels — a real, established solar technology and a genuine alternative to the far more common silicon-based panel. First Solar is a well-known, real manufacturer built around this technology.
Tellurium is added to certain steel and copper alloys to improve their machinability, making them easier and cheaper to cut and shape during manufacturing. It also has some thermoelectric applications, in materials that convert a temperature difference directly into electricity. Both uses are real and ongoing, but they represent a smaller share of demand than CdTe solar.
Cadmium telluride has semiconductor properties that let it absorb sunlight and convert it to electricity efficiently in a thin-film format, using less material than a traditional silicon solar cell requires. That thin-film approach is part of what makes CdTe technology a genuine, cost-competitive alternative path to solar power generation.
Global solar installation has grown substantially in recent years, and CdTe thin-film technology has carved out a real, established share of that market alongside silicon-based panels. Demand for tellurium tied to this use could keep growing as solar capacity continues to expand, though the pace of that growth is not something this page can state with certainty.
Yes, directly. Because CdTe solar demand is such a large share of total tellurium consumption, shifts in solar panel manufacturing plans move today's benchmark rate of ₹10.42 per gram more directly than they would move a metal with more diversified end uses.
