Hybrid vehicles to cause rare metal shortage – report

By Matt Brogan | September 01st, 2009

A report published today by Reuters Newsagency has suggested that the growing popularity of hybrid vehicles, such as the Toyota Prius, is causing a global shortage of rare earths and metals that are used extensively in the car’s electric motors and battery cells.

The other issue leading to this shortage is the world’s dominant producer, China, limits exports of such ‘rare earths’ as global demand swells.

Worldwide demand for rare earths, covering 15 entries on the periodic table of elements, is expected to exceed supply by more than 36,000 tonnes annually in the next several years unless major new production sources are developed.

One promising US source is a rare earths mine slated to reopen in California by 2012.

Among the rare earths that would be most affected in a shortage is neodymium, the key component of an alloy used to make the high-power, lightweight magnets for electric motors of hybrid cars, such as the Prius, Honda Insight and Ford Focus, as well as in generators for wind turbines.

Close cousins terbium and dysprosium are added in smaller amounts to the alloy to preserve neodymium’s magnetic properties at high temperatures. Yet another rare earth metal, lanthanum, is a major ingredient for hybrid car batteries.

Production of both hybrids cars and wind turbines is expected to climb sharply amid the clamour for cleaner transportation and energy alternatives that reduce dependence on fossil fuels blamed for global climate change.

Toyota has 70 per cent of the US market for vehicles powered by a combination of an internal-combustion engine and electric motor. The Prius is its No.One hybrid seller.

“The Prius is the biggest user of rare earths of any object in the world,” explains Mr Jack Lifton, an independent commodities consultant and strategic metals expert. “Each electric Prius motor requires 1 kilogram of neodymium, and each battery uses 10 to 15 kilograms of lanthanum. That number will nearly double under Toyota’s plans to boost the car’s fuel economy.”

Toyota plans to sell 100,000 Prius cars in the United States alone for 2009, and 180,000 next year. The company forecasts sales of 1 million units per year starting in 2010.

As China’s industries begin to consume most of its own rare earth production, Toyota and other companies are seeking to secure reliable reserves for themselves.

Japanese firms are showing strong interest in a Canadian rare earth site under development at Thor Lake in the Northwest Territories.

A Toyota spokeswoman in Los Angeles said the carmaker would not comment on its resource development plans. But media accounts and industry blogs have reported recently that Toyota has looked at rare earth possibilities in Canada and Vietnam.

With Reuters

rocket_v6

one or the other way we are running out of resources.(coal,hydrocarbon fuels etc)
Gilly

The hybrid comedy show gets better and better!
There is a cheaper solution that is in abundance, CNG and LPG!
Am I missing something or are people just happy to pay for the guilt tax when buying a Hybrid?
Alan

Hybrids sell in rather limited numbers when compared to the car industry as a whole, if this already cause pressure on the availability of rare earth metal, what about when we eventually make the shift to all eletric car with every car requiring a motor and a battery that is made out of rare earth metals? Looks like electric is not the definite way of the future, yet all car makers seem to be heading down that path.
Feducia

Would hydrogen fuel cells suffer the same shortages?
Bret

Feducia, YES.

Rare earth metals are those used more so in electric motors not batteries.

This applies to all high quality electric motors and generators.
Tom

This is the true cost of hybrid/electric cars that the average consumer just doesn’t see. Watch now as more environments get destroyed by mining to provide these materials, which in the case of rare earth elements is particularly destructive because of how dispersed they are.

Bring on algae-sourced biodiesel cars, using existing technology that we understand and have the resources and manufacturing output to support. Feducia, I know fuel cells require platinum as a catalyst, although from that recent GM announcement they’ve cut that down to 80 g per vehicle and are aiming for 30g, which is a similar amount to whats in your catalytic converter anyway. I’m assuming the rare earth elements used in electric motors will still be the same for fuel cell cars.
absi

I take it this would apply not just to Hybrids but pure electric cars too?

Not to mention Hydrogen cars..
Tom

Anything car with an electric motor as the main source of drive. We have the ability to produce electric motors without these materials (which is why ohter industries that use electric motors aren’t affected), but for the power output and size restrictions required in cars, these materials are needed.

Three things will happen, either increased demand will be countered by increased prices due to the short supply in materials, keeping electric vehicles to their current niche, someone will invent a better design that requires less rare earth materials, or fuel prices increase faster than rare earth prices, making people happy to pay the increased prices of electric vehicles until more rare earth reserves are brought online.

I suspect car manufacturers are working on the second solution, but hoping on the third one.
Simon

Those clever and cheeky Chinese! They understand supply and demand. This is why we were paying almost $2 a litre for fuel last year.
They will soon own most of the world’s manufacturing plants, the American dollar and as the story says, in demand elements and minerals.
If it wasn’t for their looming population crash, they would be the next superpower.
DesignEng©™

Tom, it’s any high quality electric motor/generator. That applies to all power generation (turbines) facilities, aircraft and cars.
Sure lower performace electric motors use other methods but efficiencies aren’t there.

BTW your third option would be the single one I would never hope for.
Your first scenario is the best. It may just drive (sic) us towards the increased percentage use of gas (LPG etc) we should be using.
DesignEng©™

Simon, it’s probably a good thing then that KRudd is selling Australia off to the Chinese as fast as he can then. At least they might look after us if they own the whole country – not.
Delta

There will be the day when people invent new techs that consume less rare material or mining companies start mining on the moon and mar . This debate about hybrid car will disappear
Feducia

Bret – thanks, but I was refering to the hydrogen fuel cell itself.

Tom – thanks for clearing that up for me
Norm X

I hear the world is running out of common sense aswell.
Feducia

DesignEng – yes I know. Thanks:). My question was aimed at whether hydrogen fueled cars would be more affected by a rare metals shortage than other car designs involving electric motors.
The Original Tom

Anyone get the impression humans are running through a maze? Every new obstacle or dead-end leads to a solution that simply finds another dead end.

It’ll be back to horse and cart for us
Shak

This is what us Hybrid haters have been saying all along. The prius and its follwers are a doomed folk who have backed the wrong tech. We should be trying to find other metal sources, or embrace hydrogen, the only real long term tech.
Steve-Poyza

i think we are screwwed
Andrew M

I believe Mazda was creating such hybrids that dont rape the earth of as many valuables……am i right, or was it someone else.

Either way I reckon jump on the LPG train.
LPG is one fuel that doesnt have as many “cons” attached to it to make its “pros” worthless