Toyota says it has invented a new magnet for high-energy applications like electric motors that uses a fraction of the amount of neodymium (a rare-earth element) of a standard iron, boron, neodymium (NdFeB) magnet.
Rare-earth magnets are used in many hybrid vehicles, some all-electric vehicles, and in other applications like wind turbines and robotics.
Although "rare" is a bit of a misnomer for a material like neodymium (high demand has led to relatively high production volumes), Toyota notes that "there are concerns that shortages will develop as electrified vehicles, including hybrid and battery electric vehicles, become increasingly popular in the future." That concern is compounded by the concentration of rare-earth mining: although attempts have been made to mine rare-earth metals in the US [Ed note: paywalled] and other parts of the world, a preponderance of rare-earth mining occurs in China. That country threatened to stop exporting neodymium and other rare earths in 2011, which sent prices for the metals soaring. If China were to use rare-earth access as a geopolitical tool again, it could significantly impact companies like Toyota that depend on rare earths to build flagship products like the Prius.
The new magnet Toyota developed also uses no terbium or dysprosium, which can be added to neodymium to improve its operability at high heat, above 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit). (In fact, mining consultancy Roskill notes that few automakers use terbium in magnets anymore, though dysprosium is still commonly added to magnets with neodymium.)
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 01 2018, @03:53PM (4 children)
I think it has to do with Thorium dust:
https://www.lenntech.com/periodic/elements/th.htm [lenntech.com]
If I recall correctly, Thorium is an alpha emitter, which means it is pretty safe as long as it is outside the body. However, Thorium dust is the reason that thoriated elements for TIG welding are falling out of favor. I assume that the same reason applies to mining.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday March 01 2018, @04:02PM (2 children)
Maybe, but this stuff (neodymium etc) is valuable, especially for economically strategic reasons.
So why not just have the miners wear good quality respirators so they don't breathe any of this stuff? Are American miners too dumb and stubborn to wear proper protective gear?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday March 01 2018, @04:25PM (1 child)
It's probably cheaper and less politically volatile to just let China dig up their own rare-earth metals and buy it from them. The rare-earth metals in the ground in the USA aren't going anywhere, so why dig it up, if it's not profitable?
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Friday March 02 2018, @05:31AM
At the rate things are going in China, that may not be true much longer. Xi Jinping seems to think he's the reincarnation of the Qin Shi Huang Di, and if you know anything at all about Chinese history you should be shaking in your shoes.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday March 01 2018, @06:26PM
The US cares about lung disease when it's time to mine Rare-Earth materials needed for high-tech, but not when it's mining coal ?
Mind blown.
It shouldn't matter anyway. Black lung or Thorium lung, Republicans will defund not-rich people's healthcare equally, and let those Republican voters die bankrupt.