The chemical symbol Cd for cadmium, atomic number 481817, was discovered. The elemental substance is a silver white metal, which is an excellent metal for absorbing neutrons. It can be made into rods to slow down the rate of chain fission reactions in nuclear reactors and is quite useful in zinc cadmium batteries.
The main application area of cadmium is in the battery industry. Currently, nearly 86% of cadmium worldwide is used to manufacture nickel cadmium batteries, 9% is used to produce pigments, 4% is used to produce coatings, and 1% is used to produce alloys, solar panels, and stabilizers.
In terms of consumption, China, Belgium, and Japan account for 77% of the global total cadmium consumption. From the perspective of downstream application markets, cadmium nickel batteries account for the majority of global consumption.
