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motors","opinion-tesla-cutting-rare-earths-brings-new-competitive-dynamic-to-ev-motors","article/opinion-tesla-cutting-rare-earths-brings-new-competitive-dynamic-to-ev-motors",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":553,"content":563,"excerpt":680,"featured":50,"reporter":681,"_editable":685,"component":686,"seo_title":543,"categories":687,"visibility":693,"author_company":694,"featured_image":695,"seo_description":680,"author_full_name":700,"author_job_title":701,"formattedDate":702,"formattedArticleDate":703},"b71eed1b-a498-4dd5-a78f-604910dc2c1c","2023-03-02 00:00",[550],{"slug":551,"name":552},"opinion","Opinion",[554],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":557},"matthew-bird","Matthew Bird",{"job_title":558,"image":559,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},"Senior Editor - Supply Chains & Data Visualisation",{"filename":560},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/14738033ec/matthew-bird.jpeg","Matthew writes, edits and produces content for Benchmark Intelligence and Benchmark Source across the whole mine to grid supply chain. He also acts as a liaison to the press. He has a PhD in electrochemistry from the University of Nottingham.","https://www.linkedin.com/in/birdmatthew/",{"type":564,"content":565},"doc",[566,583,588,593,598,603,610,615,620,625,630,635,640,645,650,655,660,665,670,675],{"type":567,"attrs":568,"content":569},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[570,573,581],{"text":571,"type":572},"Tesla’s ","text",{"text":574,"type":572,"marks":575},"announcement",[576],{"type":577,"attrs":578},"link",{"href":579,"uuid":49,"anchor":49,"target":49,"linktype":580},"https://source.benchmarkminerals.com/article/tesla-charts-a-battery-powered-future-key-takeaways-from-2023-investor-day","url",{"text":582,"type":572}," to reduce consumption of rare earths in their electric vehicles should come as no surprise, and although the potential market impacts are unclear, this does not immediately signal market displacement. ",{"type":567,"attrs":584,"content":585},{"textAlign":49},[586],{"text":587,"type":572},"Not only has reducing concentrations of rare earths within rare earth permanent motors (REPM) been a focal point of industry research ever since tensions between Japan and China escalated in 2010 following a collision between a Chinese trawler and a Japanese vessel in disputed waters in the East China Sea. But Tesla has been actively conducting research on motor improvements for years. ",{"type":567,"attrs":589,"content":590},{"textAlign":49},[591],{"text":592,"type":572},"The market implications remain to be seen, and will depend principally on the ability of Tesla’s new fleet of EVs to compete with major competitors on vehicle efficiency and cost.",{"type":567,"attrs":594,"content":595},{"textAlign":49},[596],{"text":597,"type":572},"A slight reduction in market tightness for Neodymium, Praseodymium (NdPr), Dysprosium (Dy), and Terbium (Tb) may be expected if Chinese EV makers do not fill a Tesla-sized gap for REPM demand. ",{"type":567,"attrs":599,"content":600},{"textAlign":49},[601],{"text":602,"type":572},"However, provided that Chinese EVs have become increasingly competitive in the international scene, and have steady access to REPM, Tesla’s announcement may more readily signal a bifurcation in Permanent Magnet Motor (PMM) systems between China and the rest of the world than a reduction in global rare earths demand.",{"type":604,"attrs":605,"content":607},"heading",{"level":606,"textAlign":49},4,[608],{"text":609,"type":572},"The quest to reduce rare earths",{"type":567,"attrs":611,"content":612},{"textAlign":49},[613],{"text":614,"type":572},"Reducing the amount of rare earths contained in REPM has been the cumulative result of continuous research by the modern NdFeB permanent magnet inventor Masato Sagawa and major Japanese magnet producers over the last decade. ",{"type":567,"attrs":616,"content":617},{"textAlign":49},[618],{"text":619,"type":572},"Where heavy-rare earths such as Dy and Tb requirements in REPM used in high temperature applications used to range from 8% to 11%, modern REPM requirements range from near 0% to 4%. ",{"type":567,"attrs":621,"content":622},{"textAlign":49},[623],{"text":624,"type":572},"Depending on the success of continued research on grain-boundary diffusion as a REPM production method, this may reduce to a smaller range.",{"type":567,"attrs":626,"content":627},{"textAlign":49},[628],{"text":629,"type":572},"At the same time, light rare earths such as NdPr have seen less effective thrifting attempts, and still account for 32% – 28% of most NdFeB magnet grades. Some advances have been made in reducing around 70% of NdPr with a highly abundant rare earth element: Cerium.",{"type":567,"attrs":631,"content":632},{"textAlign":49},[633],{"text":634,"type":572},"Given Cerium’s huge (and consistent) market surplus, this chemistry alone could alleviate Neodymium’s sustained market tightness and part of its supply security concerns. The problem, however, has been in the practical efficiency of these magnets. ",{"type":567,"attrs":636,"content":637},{"textAlign":49},[638],{"text":639,"type":572},"Historically, REPM-based motors have exhibited greater efficiency than its non-REE contained PM motor competitors, and the removal of REPM has been a point of research and concern principally for non-China EV producers.",{"type":567,"attrs":641,"content":642},{"textAlign":49},[643],{"text":644,"type":572},"Note that the combined raw material requirements of REPM account for upwards of 95% of magnet production costs.",{"type":604,"attrs":646,"content":647},{"level":606,"textAlign":49},[648],{"text":649,"type":572},"Spurring competition",{"type":567,"attrs":651,"content":652},{"textAlign":49},[653],{"text":654,"type":572},"Although the relative efficiency of Tesla’s new EV motors remains to be seen, their research on improving drivetrain efficiency may act as a positive signal. ",{"type":567,"attrs":656,"content":657},{"textAlign":49},[658],{"text":659,"type":572},"One such example has been carbon wrapping, which although difficult to achieve, results in a highly efficient motor able to accelerate a Model 3 to 60 mph in two seconds – notwithstanding its function in a larger drivetrain and EV system. ",{"type":567,"attrs":661,"content":662},{"textAlign":49},[663],{"text":664,"type":572},"Provided that Tesla’s system will be able to compete on equal footing with REPM-containing permanent magnet systems, we might find greater competition on cost. ",{"type":567,"attrs":666,"content":667},{"textAlign":49},[668],{"text":669,"type":572},"At present, higher costs associated with REPMs have been justified by the substantial efficiency improvements above other permanent magnet motor systems. As the cost of supply insecurity – including contingency for potential production-line shutdowns – has risen, Tesla’s new system may prove to provide strong competition.",{"type":567,"attrs":671,"content":672},{"textAlign":49},[673],{"text":674,"type":572},"The ultimate competitiveness of this system as measured against others remains to be seen, and depends on the required size of the permanent magnet motor, element consumption, and total system efficiency. ",{"type":567,"attrs":676,"content":677},{"textAlign":49},[678],{"text":679,"type":572},"Existing rare earth permanent motor systems have a proven track record of efficiency, and will not easily be out performed.","Tesla’s announcement to reduce consumption of rare earths in their electric vehicles should come as no surprise, and although the potential market impacts are unclear, this does not immediately signal market displacement. Not only has reducing concentrations of rare earths within rare earth permanent motors (REPM) been a focal point of industry research ever since […]",[682],{"slug":555,"name":556,"content":683},{"job_title":558,"image":684,"bio":561,"linkedin":562},{"filename":560},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"b71eed1b-a498-4dd5-a78f-604910dc2c1c\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[688,691],{"slug":689,"name":690},"ev","EV",{"slug":692,"name":414},"rare-earths","private","Benchmark Mineral Intelligence",{"id":49,"alt":696,"name":696,"focus":696,"title":696,"source":696,"filename":697,"copyright":696,"fieldtype":698,"meta_data":699,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/4680df680c/bm-electric-motor-1295284cc0b0.jpg","asset",{"alt":696,"title":696,"source":696,"copyright":696},"Daan de Jonge","Project Manager","Mar 02, 2023","2nd March 2023",[],[],1783093137641]