Technology Foresight REE

Permanent Magnets-based Electric-drive Vehicles – Resource Assessment in India

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Sajid Mubashir is Director/Scientist F at TIFAC, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

Suresh Babu Muttana is Scientist C at TIFAC, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India. © U gurhan B etin | i S tockphoto

Arghya Sardar is Scientist D at TIFAC, Department of Science & Introduction drive train. The ReePM motors have the Technology, Government desired characteristics of high power of India. The electrification of road transport has density, high torque inertia and high effi- gained high priority in the developed ciency and are able to meet HEV require- economies. Japanese companies have ments of high torque at low speeds and established their lead in Hybrid Electric- enable regenerative braking. drive Vehicles (HEVs), and are now mov- REEs are very important “technology ing to commercialise Plug-in-Hybrid EV metals” that are indispensable in many and Battery-EV. The United States plans modern technologies like computer hard Suresh Kumar K is Director/Scientist E at TIFAC, one million Plug-in-Hybrid EVs by 2015, disk drives (mostly light rare earths), dis- Department of Science & Germany one million Battery-EVs by 2020 plays (smart phones) & LED lighting sec- Technology, Government of India. and China four million Battery-EVs by tor (heavy rare earths); metal hydride 2020. The largest EV manufacturing base (Ni-MH) batteries; and fluid catalytic is now in China, particularly for electric cracking catalysts used in the oil industry. two-wheelers, EV battery and motor ❶ indicates that whereas permanent manufacturing facilities. motors were preferred in HEVs The Japanese HEVs utilise Rare Earth commercialised by Japanese manufactur- Element Permanent Magnet (ReePM) ers, other options like switched reluctance Motors, as they are lightweight, compact motor and induction motor have always and efficient. This is very important since remained as potential choices. In recent HEVs carry both conventional and electric times, there appears to be conscious

20 www.autotechreview.com efforts to avoid high dependence on the metals (like or ), with the supply of rare earths from China, which inner-transition-metals belonging to the dominates the REE market. China started rare-earth elements (REE) or REE production in 1980s and equalled the series of elements. production volume of the US by 1990s, by REEs are anisotropic materials ❷ that cutting prices and a willingness to tolerate can only be magnetised through a "pre- low cost, high polluting processing ferred" direction, and it gives very high methods. intrinsic (the material's resist- From the supply of mixed rare earths, ance to demagnetisation), high rema- they first moved up the value chain to nence (strength of the ) and export separated rare earth oxides and energy product (density of magnetic metals. Then in another decade, they energy measured in mega oersted, moved up to higher value products such MGOe). as magnets, phosphors, and polishing :: First generation “1-5” -cobalt- compounds. In 2006, they overtook Japan magnet developed in 1968 (SmCo5) as the largest manufacturers of high contains 66 % Co and 34 % Sm by strength permanent magnets. China now weight and is the most expensive rare supplies finished products including elec- earth permanent magnet . It has tric motors, computers, batteries, liquid excellent characteristics like high crystal displays (LCDs), mobile phones, energy product (16 to 23 MGOe), very and portable music devices. Early this high coercivity (5 to 30 kOe), and high year, they reduced exports of REEs to use temperature (up to 250° C). Sama- Japan and this has alarmed the developed rium-cobalt-magnets are preferred for countries. defence applications like the tiny This article examines the special prop- motors on missiles and smart bombs. ❶ HEV model and ­propulsion system erties of REEs, what makes them expen- :: Second generation “2-17” magnets sive, the Chinese monopoly and the tech- (Sm2Co17, late 1970s) substituted nology trends. We estimate the potential cobalt (Co) with iron (Fe) up to 25 % demand for REE for electric drive vehi- weight. It is no longer produced. netism) and maximum operating tem- cles in India, the supply-side issues, and :: Third generation “2-14-1” Nd2Fe14B - perature of 80° C only. For its use in the potential to develop ReePM Motors -magnets, developed in automobiles, like in from domestic ores. 1983 is the strongest permanent mag- and traction motors for HEVs, the mag- net alloy and is widely used. Neody- net alloy has to be modified. By repla- mium magnets have high , cing Nd (up to 40 %) with Technology Improvements & coercivity and energy product. It is the and (Dy), the coercive Exponential Market Growth least expensive REE Magnet as Nd is force can be preserved at higher tem- ten times more abundant in nature perature, but there is a problem. The The permanent magnet industry began in than Sm, and iron and are easily maximum energy product of the mag- the 1930s, with the development of available. But neodymium magnets are net is reduced by addition of Dy, alloys in Japan. They are iron-cobalt- sensitive to heat. The standard grades which is a scarce and expensive heavy nickel based alloys with minor additions have of 310˚ C (at REE, occurring only in the ratio of 20 of aluminium and copper, and sometimes which point the material loses its mag- % to that of Nd availability. Japan and titanium as well. Alnico is usually pro- duced by casting process. The ferrite mag- nets developed in 1952 are “ceramic” magnets that are non-conductive, hard 2 1 and brittle produced using a mixture of 4.5 barium or strontium oxides with iron Neodymuim oxide. Though ferrite magnets have only modest magnetic field strength (400 to 31 Iron 2000 oersteds), they are cheap to produce. And the global magnets market grew sig- Boron nificantly. The development of extremely 61.5 powerful rare earth element permanent Cobalt magnets (during 1968 to 1983) has helped miniaturise motors and generators, and Dysprosium dramatically change the industry. They ❷ Composition of are “inter-metallic alloys” of transition Nd-Fe-B magnet autotechreview November 2011 Zero Issue 21 Technology Foresight REE MAGNETS

Rare-earth patents 350 ogy product may earn short term business 300 profit, but has led to the technology decline of the US, and rise in innovation 250 among the suppliers. This is because tech- 200 nology innovations occur in delicately bal- 150

No. of patents anced system of clients, suppliers, R&D 100 units, and financial system. So, if the local 50 ❸ Patent trends for industrial supply chain collapses, the 0 rare earth magnets – 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 incentive for innovations will also reduce. declining share for the The United States is attempting to reverse US site Non-US site US org Non-US org USA the trend by reviving the REE industry mining and supply chain. ❸ shows that during 1995 to 2003, the the US are carrying out major R&D turers are Shin Etsu Chemical (40 % of US share in patents in rare-earths had projects to either reduce dysprosium Japanese market), TDK (10 %), Sumitomo declined considerably. We examined the used in rare earth magnets, to develop Special Metals Co. and Dowa Mining Co. 562 patents that were filed since January anisotropic nanocomposite permanent Since it started producing REE Perma- 2006 and found that Japan has an over- magnets with low rare earth content nent Magnets in 1990s, China has brought whelming share of 72 %, followed by and to discover new permanent down the cost of magnets significantly, 22 % for China, while others have only magnets. leading to its large scale use. The cost marginal presence. Recently, South Korea The two neodymium magnet manufactur- pressure from Chinese magnets has led to and Taiwan are also engaged in magnet ing routes are: the closure or reduced operations of west- research activities. The top six major pat- Sintered magnet: The alloy is melted, ern companies. Three US companies ent holders are Japanese entities ❹ – cast and cooled to form ingots, which are closed down by 2003 ( Magnets, Hitachi Metals Ltd (89), TDK Corp (78), then pulverised and milled to tiny parti- USA, CRUMAX and UGIMAG). In Europe, Sumitomo Metal Mining Co (22), Shinetsu cles. Then liquid-phase is uti- Philips Components, UK closed down, Chemical Co (16), Daido Electronics Co lised to magnetically align the powder while small volume production is carried Ltd (14) and ULVAC Corp (13). into dense blocks which are heat-treated, out by German companies VAC and Mag- cut to shape, surface treated and magnet- netfabrik Schramberg as well as REOREM, ised. 50,000 tons of sintered neodymium Finland. The US magnet manufacturers About Rare Earths magnets are produced annually, in China moved to China, although Japan contin- and Japan. ued to import REEs. REE Magnets are alloys of some transition Bonded magnet: Melt spinning the Nd- However, China's access to the high- metals with inner-transition-lanthanide Fe-B alloy gives a ribbon with randomly end market is limited, and their products metals. In the Periodic Table of Elements, oriented nano-scale grains, which is pul- have relatively low magnetic properties as the middle block of elements are known verised into particles, mixed with a poly- they lack some of the advanced process- as the “transition elements” and two rows mer and either compression or injection ing and post-treatment knowhow, and the of elements given at the bottom of peri- moulded into bonded magnets. Bonded industrial practices are labour-intensive. odic table are called “inner transition met- magnets have less flux than sintered mag- Chinese magnet manufacturers have als” ( and actinides). The 15 nets but can be made into intricately taken high cost license from Sumitomo rare earth elements of the lanthanide shaped parts. About 5,500 tons of bonded Special Metals Corporation for sintered series are of interest to us. magnets are produced annually. Nd-Fe-B magnets and have to procure the The light REE ions with atomic num- The permanent magnets manufacturing metal powders from the specialists com- bers from 57 to 62 are more abundantly is confined mainly to Japan and China panies (like Magnequench) for the available, while the heavy REEs (elements today and there is a rough segmentation bonded magnets. 63 to 71) are generally scarce. REE ore with Japan dominating the high-end mar- Jack Lifton, the leading authority on deposits are in the form of bastnaesite – ket and China catering to the rest. The Nd- rare and strategic metals markets has sug- a carbonate mineral, and Monazite – Fe-B patents are held by Japanese and gested that the current supply crisis is an a phosphate mineral. Bastnaesite ores are European companies, and both have long attempt to pressurise Japan to open up found in China, the US, Canada, Russia, history of R&D in magnets technology. their domestic market to Chinese-made Malawi and Norway. It is a fluorocar- Most of the magnets were invented in sub-components, but Japan wants to bonate mineral (Ce, La, Y) CO3F associ- Japan (except for SmCo). Hitachi Metals avoid the type of disruption of rare-earth ated with highly metamorphosed rock has the maximum active patents globally, supply chain as happened in the US. types. The largest ore bodies occur in car- and give production licenses for manufac- Researchers from Carnegie Mellon Uni- bonatites – igneous rocks with more than ture in Japan only. They control 45 % of versity have studied the geographic 50 percent carbonate minerals. When the Japanese market. This may change spread or shift in innovation in the REE these rocks get “weathered” they form since Hitachi Metals' patents will expire in Magnets industry. They suggest that out- "ion-absorption deposits" rich in light rare 2014. The other major Japanese manufac- sourcing the production of high technol- earth elements (LREE). Monazite deposits

22 www.autotechreview.com 140 Leading players Bastnasite-carbonatite period 100 120 90 89 Bayan-Obo 80 78 100 deposit etc. (China) 70

60 80 50 Mountain pass deposit (United states) 40 60 Monazite period 30 Number of publications 22 20 16 40 China 14 13 10 20 0 United states Hitachi TDK Sumitomo Shinetsu Daido ULVAC metals corp, Japan metal chemical electronics corp, Japan Others 0 Ltd, Japan mining co, Japan co Ltd, co, Japan Japan 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2006 Years

❹ Leaders in rare earth magnet patents ❺ Chinese reserves amount to 30 % of global resources

often occur as placer surface deposits in Pass, California). China has reserves of 55 ration, and is reviving the processing Australia, Brazil, China, India, South million metric tons, which is 30 % of glo- industry with improved technologies and Africa, South East Asia and Sri Lanka. bal resources ❻. In 1990, when the Chi- finances. Placer deposits are natural concentrates of nese share of global REE production was The Mountain Pass, California deposit heavy minerals due to the constant wash- 27 % and domestic consumption was in the USA is the most economical for ing away of lighter sand particles by river 19,000 metric tons, the REEs were mining. Molycorp is reviving the ore or seawater. declared as protected and strategic miner- processing operation at Mountain Pass The REEs have similar chemical prop- als. China rapidly expanded production with the USA Government support. Can- erties and outer electronic shell configura- hiring American advisers and reducing ada with 56 % REE deposits outside tion, and the differences among them are the production costs, and now produces China, mainly in Quebec and Ontario, entirely the function of their inner elec- 97 % of REE, with 60 % of REE being uti- plans to develop four new REE mines. tronic orbits (f-shell). The lanthanide ele- lised in China itself ❼. Chinese companies New mines are being developed in the ments were called the “rare earth ele- tried to acquire two major REE mines – United States (4), Australia (4), South ments” as it is very difficult to separate the US Mountain Pass mine, which was Africa (2), and one each in Sweden, Kyr- out the metal, even though they are actu- closed in 2002, and the Lynas Corporation gyzstan and Malawi. Out of them, two US ally more common than copper, chro- in Australia. They were declined by the mines may become operational within a mium, lead, zinc and tin on the earth's respective governments. year, and another three (Canada, Australia surface. The higher cost of the REEs China has caused alarm among the and US) may begin in another three years. comes from the use of elaborate separa- major consuming countries through The rest of the new mines may take a dec- tion techniques, which are labour inten- nationalist policies like production quotas, ade to get operational. Australia's plans to sive, use of lot of chemicals and iterative export quotas and export taxes, enforced concentrate the ore at Mount Weld (a very steps, and generate harmful effluents and environmental legislation, and not issuing rich deposit) and ship it to a processing at times radioactive waste material. Due new mining licenses. The export quota plant in Pahang, Malaysia has seen objec- to this, the US gave up the processing of was declined by 40 % from 50,145 tonnes rare-earths from their ore deposits and (2009) to 30,258 tonnes in 2010, and this was content to let China develop an elab- could force manufacturers to shift the pro- Country wise orate REE industry. In the process, the duction base to China. They may cut back 22.32 % Other industrial supply chain in the US has col- rare-earth element production for environ- 0.05 % Malaysia lapsed. The current efforts to build the mental reasons also – like dumping of 0.03 % Brazil supply chain may take a decade or two to acid into local waterways and other pollu- 5.48 % Australia fructify. tion due to ammonia, nitrogen, emission 19.27 % Russia of radioactive elements and phosphorus. (& CIS) The two leading consumers of REE – 13.19 % Rare Earth Mining Japan and the US – have set in motion United states plans to secure unfettered supplies. The 36.52 % China Mining of rare earths ❺ began in the US is developing their defunct REE mines, 3.14 % India United States in the 1950s (Mountain has catalysed large scale geological explo- ❻ Global REE ore resources autotechreview November 2011 Zero Issue 23 Technology Foresight REE MAGNETS

tion from environmental activists there. tation was tried. In fractional crystallisa- 2700 India Japan lacks the ore deposits, and has tion, the difference in stability of various turned to recycling of industrial waste, rare earths is first enhanced using chelat- 120000 China sea-bed exploration and strategic tie-ups ing agents (combining with organic mole- 650 Brazil to secure REE supplies. Japanese research- cule), then through repeated partial pre- ers estimate that the Pacific Ocean floor cipitation of salts from a saturated solu- 380 Malaysia mud may have 100 billion tons of rare earth tion, the concentrates were obtained. elements. They are also pursuing long term The method was first demonstrated 270 Other technology development programmes that by Charles James, in 1900. He had crys- will either reduce the need for the expen- tallised rare earth bromates by repeating ❼ REE Mining and Processing sive (heavy) REE or do not need REE at all. the process for four years daily and India has around 5 million tons of 15,000 times to get good particular rare monazite, 70-75 % occurs in beach placer earth elements. This demonstrates the and the rest in the inland and offshore difficulty of the separation process. Later verted to metals using mercury amalga- varieties (Source: GSI), and produces a slightly quicker method for crude sepa- mate oxidation-reduction, vacuum distilla- around 2500 tons (2 % of global supply). ration of the rare earths mixture into tion, and metallothermic reduction. The exports were stopped in 2004 but are three groups was developed using frac- being revived now. India is set to supply tional precipitation, which involved con- about 6,000 tonnes of rare earth chloride verting a fraction of the rare earths in the Estimated Demand to a Japanese company Toyota Tsusho, in solution into an insoluble form by adding seven years time. some chemical reagent, and then precipi- The global demand is indicated in ❽. tating it out. Some studies have estimated large rise in The modern methods involve ion- demand for permanent magnets “green Extraction Of Rare-Earth exchange and solvent extraction, for com- energy applications” (wind turbines and Oxides & Metals mercial scale separation of rare earths. battery alloys for electric vehicles) to com- Ion-exchange technique is based on the prise 50 % of demand by 2015. These pro- Each of the 17 rare earth elements differential absorption and differential elu- jections consider the extensive use of requires a different degree of processing. tion of ionic species. It was first used dur- metal-hydride batteries in HEVs (Toyota's Separating the ore concentrate into indi- ing World War II for separating out the Prius hybrid uses 15 kg of rare earth met- vidual metals or their oxides is a long, elements of the related actinide series of als for batteries). However, there may be a complex and expensive process as they radioactive elements. The method works large scale shift to lithium-ion batteries in have similar physical and chemical prop- for lanthanides (rare earths also) as they future, which do not use REE. erties, and there are very few facilities and exhibit similar behaviour. Ion-exchange Japan continues to be a major high plants outside of China with the infra- process utilised chelating agents to value player, with companies like Toyota structure and expertise. The ores contain enhance the basicity (reactivity) of the Tsusho, Sojitz Corp., Hitachi Metals, Sum- some uranium and thorium, and the rare earth salts. The process was very itomo Corp, etc. that process half of the processing requires large amounts of acid slow and not continuous, and not com- world’s rare earths and export the fin- and hazardous chemicals, and these toxic mercially useful. ished products to Europe and the USA. wastes must be handled carefully. The solvent extraction processes devel- But electric drive vehicles will contri­ One of the crucial initial steps is to oped after 1970 is now utilised to separate bute to the demand for rare earth ele- separate out the rare earth element salts. rare earths. It utilises the difference in rel- ments, since permanent magnet motor is In the early days of laboratory study, frac- ative solubilities of metal ions in two dif- the preferred drive for these vehicles. A tional crystallisation or fractional precipi- ferent immiscible solvents, usually water consumes almost 1 kg rare and an organic solvent containing an earth elements for its motor. With extractant that extract the metal in the increased penetration of Electric-drive form of a complex. This process also has Vehicles (xEV) there will be a phenome- Estimates to be repeated enormous number of nal jump for rare earth element demand, stages of extraction to get the desired as the current demand is led by computer- 250,000 purity and separation of adjacent rare hard-disk manufacturers that use rather Global demand 200,000 China production earths. But the extraction processes is rel- small-sized motors. In order to get an idea China demand atively fast and continuous. So, it is used of the emerging market, we can look at 150,000 commercially. There are other methods China's two-wheeled electric bicycles with Million tons 100,000 based on selective oxidation-reduction. hub mounted permanent magnet motor. Selective oxidation of Ce, Pr, and Tb, and 50,000 They have a limited range of 40–60 km selective reduction of Sm, Eu, and Yb are and use about 400 g of Nd-magnets of 0 2010 2015 useful in effective separation of these ele- lower grade (40H) in the motor. Since Year ments from the other trivalent rare earths. China produces about 30 million e-cycles, ❽ REE Demand and Production Salts of the rare earths are then con- they may be consuming about 10,000 to

24 www.autotechreview.com 12,000 tons of REEs. The 4 to 5 million V is the total magnet volume P m electric-drive cars that will be introduced _____N V = C ​ ​ needed for the PM motor, PN is m v f B H in the next 3 to 4 years globally will r c the rated output power of the require about 1 kg of REE per car, if they Volume of magnet PM motor, f is the operation 0.2σ K mK ad frequency, r is the residual mag­ ______0 use lithium-ion batteries. If metal hydride C =​ ​tanδ V ξ netic flux density and Hc is the batteries are continued, then the demand coercive force of the magnets for REE will be many times higher. If the Neodymium 31 %, Iron 61.5 %, Boron 1 %, Cobalt 2 %, market develops like this, there may be a Magnet composition and Dysprosium 4.5 %, Residual magnetic flux density = 1.26 Tesla, characteristics likely shortage in future for five rare Coercive force = 0.95 x 106 A/m earths – dysprosium, neodymium, ter- Magnet coverage 70 %, Km = 4, Magnet usage ratio = 0.5, bium, europium and yttrium. Motor design assumptions: Inner power angle = 45° We carried out an analysis in order to get a rough idea of the potential demand ❾ Process used to determine the amount of magnet per vehicle of rare earth materials for electric drive motor applications in India. In the trac- tion motor, the requirement for rare earth elements is dependent on the size and rent level) will have to be diverted to this Expected sales HEV / PHEV design of the motor used in various cate- sector. BEV Share in 2020 Share gories of vehicles. In battery electric As was explained in this article, very 32 million vehicles and in series hybrid electric high levels of technologies is required for 15 % – two-wheelers vehicle all the torque required to propel a every stage of the supply chain in the vehicle is provided by an . manufacture of rare earth permanent 1 million 3 % – In case of the parallel systems, the IC magnet motors for future three-wheelers engine is mechanically coupled to the fleets in India. Considering that high level 8.5 million cars 4 % 15 % torque produced by the electrical motor. of penetration is not expected for electric 14,000 hybrid 5 % 15 % Hence, the torque and power require- drive vehicles in near future, the main buses ments of the electric motor are roughly challenge in India is entirely in the tech- 1.5 million LCVs 4 % 8 % equal for electric vehicle and series nology domain, particularly since there is hybrid, while they are lower for parallel no significant expertise in India for pro- ❿ Projected future demand for rare earth elements hybrids. Even with a particular rating of duction of raw materials and magnets. the motor, the magnet requirement may There are many compelling reasons vary based on the design. However, since promoting the electrification of at least a this is a broad indicative projection, cer- part of road transportation, including the tain typical values of various parameters current oil burden (oil expenditure % have been assumed. ❾ mentions the GDP, after accounting for inflation), high chain. It lacks the scale, experience and process used for estimating magnet per fuel import bill, future energy security and resources of the global companies, and vehicle, for traction motor purpose. environmental sustainability of transport. will have to be assisted by public-funded We have considered the potential elec- The Indian industry has a large techno­ R&D efforts, to develop competitive tric-drive vehicle deployment scenario logy gap in all aspects of the supply products. developed by the National Electric Mobil- ity Study up to the year 2020, and pro- jected the demand for rare earth elements that will arise in such a situation ❿. We have assumed that they will use only per- manent magnet motors and the following motor ratings were considered reasonable for the Indian driving conditions – electric 2 & 3 wheeler – 5 kW; passenger car (BEV, HEV & PHEV) – 40 kW; LCV (BEV & HEV) – 20 kW; PHEV Bus – 150 kW. The projected demand of rare earth oxides will be 1,524 tons, out of which Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) is an auto­nomous neodymium oxide will be 1,334 tons and organisation set up in 1988 under the Department of Science & Technology dysprosium oxide will be 190 tons. India to look ahead in technologies, assess the technology trajectories, and support technology currently produces around 2,500 tons, innovation by network actions in select technology areas of national importance. which means that in the above low EV/ HEV penetration the majority of REE Send in your feedback to [email protected] oxides produced domestically (at the cur- autotechreview November 2011 Zero Issue 25