Neodymium and Dysprosium are part of the Rare-Earth family of chemical elements which are used in a variety of electronic products from TVs to cell phones and computers. World production of Rare-Earth Elements (REE) was 124,000 tons in 2009, for a global demand of 134,000 tons. The deficit was met by using existing stockpiles. Worldwide demand is expected to reach 180,000 tons by 2012. In a report released last December, the U.S. Department of Energy estimated that widespread use of electric-drive vehicles and offshore wind farms could cause shortages of these metals by 2015.
As a result, in the last 6 months the price of Neodymium almost tripled, from $100/kg to $280/kg, and Dysprosium went from $400/kg to $860/kg
The most worrisome aspect of that situation is that 97% for world production of REEs comes from China, and they already reduced the amounts they export to satisfy their own industry needs. Last September, China stopped shipments to Japan for two months, sending manufacturers worldwide to scramble to secure their own supplies.
A typical Hybrid car uses 10 kilograms of those metals, and a wind turbine can use several hundred kilos. Expected price increases could easily add thousands of dollars to the price of a Prius. Using common iron or nickel based magnets just wouldn't work, they are not powerful enough. Replacing them with electromagnets would make the cars more complicated, expensive, bigger and heavier, and consume much more energy.
My guess? We should ditch the expensive and complicated Hybrids and go with simpler, smaller cars, like I mentioned in a previous post.
Via [TechnologyReview]
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