Car rare earth removal, subversion or fantasy?

"No rare earths, no car"? Tesla, the company that is best at revolutionizing technology in the world, is trying to disrupt the norm again! Musk claimed that the next generation of permanent magnet motors will achieve "zero rare earth"! Is this a leap in technology, or a challenge to industry common sense?

The rare-earth removal revolution set off by Tesla may be far more simple than we think.

Musk claims that the next generation of permanent magnet motors will achieve "zero rare earth"

01

The long-planned de-rare-earth process

Rare earth elements are non-renewable strategic resources. In the core components of electric vehicles - motors, rare earth permanent magnet materials are widely used and critical, and their excellent magnetic and thermal conductivity properties lay a solid foundation for efficient operation and performance improvement of vehicles.

The main material of permanent magnet motor: rare earth

The majority of rare earth resources are in China, which currently controls nearly 60 percent of rare earth mining operations, more than 85 percent of processing capacity and more than 90 percent of permanent magnet production, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The deeper consideration of Tesla's de-rare-earth is to seek to reduce its dependence on China's rare earth supply chain to avoid potential supply chain risks.

In 2022, China will account for 70% of global rare earth production.

The US trade representative claimed that China dominates the rare earth field, making the US supply chain "vulnerable", just as foreign chip technology has been "trapped" in China, China's dominant position in the rare earth field may also pose a "rare earth threat" to foreign countries. To this end, this is not only a contest between car companies, but also a game between countries.

02

Three kinds of technical routes for rare earth removal at home and abroad

In the process of motor rare-earth removal, breakthroughs are mainly sought through the following three technical routes at home and abroad.

Tesla: Continue production using permanent magnet motors but it does not require any rare earth elements

First, revolutionary motor design: Tesla is at the forefront of the industry, not only successfully reduced the use of rare earths in the Model 3 by 25%, but also actively developed a revolutionary magneto - SPSRM motor, which completely eliminates rare earths, but can achieve excellent efficiency and performance. Domestic Toyota is also developing a new type of magnet, and strive to maintain its excellent heat resistance and magnet properties in the reduction of rare earth.

Iron nitride manufactured by Niron Magnets

Alternative material development: General Motors and Stellantis worked closely with start-up Niron Magnetics to develop high-performance rare-earth-free permanent magnet motors using common elements of iron and nitrogen. This innovation not only breaks the dependence on rare earths, but also opens up a new way for the future development of electric motors.

Third, to explore sustainable rare earth mining and recycling methods: A number of global research institutions such as the United States Sandia National Laboratories patent revealed a new method of environmentally friendly separation of rare earth from fly ash, for rare earth extraction opened up a new sustainable path, such as the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Northeastern University and other institutions are also committed to exploring sustainable rare earth mining and recovery technology.

70% reduction in mining time! 80% reduction in ammonium use!

Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry pioneered the electric drive mining technology of weathering crust type rare earth ore in the world

Although domestic and foreign enterprises are involved in the technical route of rare-earth-free motor, they show different advantages at home and abroad: In terms of technology, foreign enterprises have mature motor control technology to achieve efficient energy conversion and accurate control; Domestic enterprises are good at the research and development of new non-rare earth materials, reduce costs and resource dependence, in the research direction, the domestic preference for practical and industrialization, rapid transformation of scientific research results; Foreign countries pay more attention to basic research and innovation, and tend to transnational technical cooperation.

De-rare-earth technology has made remarkable progress, but it still faces many challenges, such as the stability verification of new materials and the further optimization of the overall performance of motors.

03

De-rare-earth, next vent?

Despite the challenges, experts said that because rare-earth-free motors are currently in their infancy, their potential market space is huge and growing rapidly, and they are regarded as the emerging blue ocean market in power systems. It is predicted that by 2025, the global electric drive market will reach 300 billion yuan, and the scale of the Chinese market will also exceed 110 billion yuan. This prospect provides a broad development space and attractive commercial prospects for rare-earth removal technology.

By 2025, the global electric drive market will reach 300 billion yuan

Looking around the world, car companies and Tier1 are rushing into the rare-earth-free motor circuit, in addition to Tesla, GM, BMW, Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, ZF and other multinational automobile manufacturers and parts suppliers are researching or developing, domestic enterprises such as China North Rare Earth and Xiamen Tungsten Industry, Haichuan Electric, Van Sheng Zhiqiang, etc., are also actively investing in rare-earth-free technological innovation. However, from the published mass production or commercial time, the world is still a long way from the real landing of rare-earth-free motors.

The future is bright, but the road is long. China, as the global leader in rare earth resources, not only bears multiple challenges in resource supply and security, but also breeds unlimited possibilities to drive industrial transformation and upgrading through innovation. Who will be the leader of this change, we will wait and see!