Rare earth elements, a group of 17 metals that make up the powerful magnets that are so vital to our gadgets, tools, and electric/hybrid powertrains, aren't quite as rare as the name would imply. But they difficult and dirty to extract and refine from the Earth's crust, which makes our growing use of them a growing concern.
Take dysprosium. From the Greek "dysprositos," meaning "hard to get," dysprosium is one of the toughest to extract, making it one of the most expensive and scare elements on the planet. But it's an essential component of the neodymium-based magnets found in the electric motors of EVs and hybrids, increasing the magnet's heat resistance for high-performance use. This week, however, Nissan announced a new electric motor design that uses 40 percent less of the element, and without sacrificing performance.
Instead of distributing the heat-resistant dysprosium throughout a neodymium magnet, as is done currently, the Nissan engineers coated each crystal within the magnet with a layer of dysprosium in a process known as grain boundary diffusion. This way, Nissan says, its engineers achieved the same amount of heat resistance with less of the rare earth element. This kind of motor, Nissan says, could save roughly 40 grams of dysprosium per car.
This isn't just prototype tech: The updated Nissan Leafs available at Japanese dealerships today come equipped with the new motors. With China's alarming monopoly on rare earths and demand for dysprosium potentially rising by 2500 percent within the next 25 years, according to recent research, automakers will need to start devoting just as much effort to squeezing the most out of a gram rare earths as they do a gallon of gas.