Rare Earth elementsPowerful magnets developed to end rare earths dependency
Scientists at General Electric’s Global Research are currently developing powerful new magnets that are stronger, lighter, and use less rare Earth metals; researchers hope that the new magnets will help reduce U.S. dependence on China’s supplies of rare Earth metals, which have been subject to disruption; the new magnets are being created with nanocomposites which consist of combining tiny particles of various magnetic alloys to create more reactive coatings; GE has received $2.25 million from the Department of Energy to develop these magnets
The remarkably strong rare Earth magnet // Source: lyt.com
In an effort to wean the United States off of China’s increasingly unreliable rare Earth metal supplies, scientists at General Electric’s Global Research are currently developing powerful new magnets that are stronger, lighter, and use less rare earth metals.
As China, the world’s largest supplier of rare Earth metals, continues to reduce its exports of these rare Earth minerals, the rest of the world is actively seeking alternative solutions to avoid disruptions in its supply chain.
The strongest magnets today are made of rare Earth minerals like neodymium, dysprosium, and terbium and are used as critical components in missile guidance chips, electric cars, and wind turbines.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) predicts that demand for these minerals could exceed supply in as little as two years. DOE projects that in 2015 worldwide production for neodymium will be roughly 30,000 tons, while extreme estimates project that demand will exceed that amount by 2015. More conservative projections estimate that demand will exceed supply by about 2020.
According to Steven Duclos, manager of material sustainability at GE Global Research, “We believe technology can play a role in addressing [rare earth shortages].”
Researchers are currently experimenting with using nanocomposite magnet materials made by combining tiny particles from current magnetic alloys. In theory these nanostructured magnets interact more strongly than conventional magnets.
In the past scientists made magnets by experimenting with crystallized neodymium alloys to find the forms with the best magnetic properties — but “Neodymium magnet performance has plateaued,” says Frank Johnson, the head of GE’s magnet research program.
“The hope now is nanocomposites,” says George Hadjipanayis, one of the original developers of rare earth magnets and chair of the physics and astronomy department at the University of Delaware.
Using nanocomposites would reduce the amount of rare Earth metals required, while also making stronger magnets.
Johnson says that while these have been proven effective, they have only succeeded in producing thin films. The next challenge is to scale up production to create larger magnets.
According to Hadjipanayis, “they’re very reactive materials” and therefore difficult to manufacture on a larger scale.
The new magnets are still in their experimental phase and it is unclear when they will be ready to hit the market.
For now, “it’s one step at a time,” says Hadjipanayis.
GE has received $2.25 million from DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and Hadjipanayis’s group has received nearly $4.5 million for its research from various investors including ARPA-E.
