So much for Toyota's much pumped dysprosium free motor , they're still only good for low-temp applications and cutting costs by cutting the amount of NdPr usage in them. I guess the downramper got overexcited reading the first paragraph and missed out the last one : "
Dysprosium is still required in magnets for NEVs and other high-temperature applications to maintain performance."
Rare earths: Toyota develops lower-neodymium NdFeB magnets
Posted on 26th February 2018 in
General News,
Roskill Weekly Round-up
A media storm developed this week surrounding Toyota’s announcement that it is developing NdFeB magnets using the abundant light rare earths lanthanum and cerium to replace up to half of the use of heavier neodymium and to replace, entirely, the use of dysprosium and terbium.
The magnets are expected to be rolled out, initially, in the power steering of Toyota vehicles and in other traditional automotive applications during the first half of the 2020s. Many media outlets have failed to note, however, that use of this new technology in higher-performance magnets for the drivetrain of electric vehicles (EVs) will come later, possibly sometime ‘within the next 10 years’. In the meantime, Toyota plans to work on further enhancement of magnet performance.
Simple replacement of neodymium with lanthanum/cerium typically results in a reduction of coercivity at high temperatures. To maintain coercivity, Toyota has implemented three technological developments: grain refinement, a two-layered high-performance grain surface, a specific alloying ratio for lanthanum and cerium.
Roskill view: Excitement has stemmed from growing concern over a rising neodymium deficit that is currently being met by stocks. Rare earths, mainly neodymium, make up around a third of the weight of NdFeB magnets. Small size NdFeBs are used in a wide range of applications, but it is the increasing use of large size NdFeBs (weighing up to several kgs) in EV drivetrains and, to a lesser extent, wind turbines, that is widening the gap between neodymium supply and demand.
The use of dysprosium in NdFeB magnets for low-temperature applications (such has wind turbines) has already been significantly reduced or removed entirely.
Dysprosium is still required in magnets for NEVs and other high-temperature applications to maintain performance. Use of terbium in NdFeBs has effectively been removed for a number of years.
(20min delay)
