Working in partnership with one of Japan’s leading steel manufacturers, Honda’s new electric motor for hybrid automobiles is unique because it does not utilize any heavy rare earth elements, reports Automotive News.
The collaboration resulted in the development of the first magnets used in drive motors in both hybrid and electric vehicles that won’t require materials like dysprosium or terbium to improve heat resistance. Up until now, the use of these rare earth elements was necessary because of their high heat resistance and the strength of the magnet produced.
Another advantage in not using rare earth elements in hybrid drive motors will be seen in the consumer’s wallet. Rare earth elements are expensive and the global supply is not only limited but monopolized, especially in China, according to Fox News.
The drive motors in hybrid and electric vehicles use powerful and high heat resistance magnets known as Neodymium magnets, or NdFeB, NIB, or Neo magnets.
Developed in 1982 by General Motors and Sumitomo Special Metals, these magnets are the strongest magnets commercially available, replacing less powerful magnets in a number of applications, especially in power tools, hard disk drives, and magnetic fasteners.
Electric or hybrid vehicle motors use another rare earth called neodymium. But it is considered a light rare earth element and can be sourced from China as well as other countries, such as the U.S. and Australia.
While the heavy rare earth elements account for about 10 percent of the drive motor magnet’s weight, neodymium accounts for about 30 percent and iron around 65 percent.
But Daido Steel and Honda figured out a way to manufacture the neodymium-iron magnets using a method they call hot deformation that creates a fine crystal grain structure that can handle the high heat without the use of the rare earth elements. Honda went so far as to create an all new motor to accommodate the magnets.
Honda plans to introduce the new motor in a hybrid version of an Asian-market minivan called appropriately, Freed, later this year. The plan is to expand the use of the new motor to accommodate other hybrid models.