Hitachi unveils motor without 'rare earths'

AFP ^ | 04/11/2012 | uncredited

[Abathar]

TOKYO — Japanese high-tech firm Hitachi Wednesday unveiled an electric motor that does not use "rare earths", aiming to cut costs and reduce dependence on imports of the scarce minerals from China.

The prototype 11 kilowatt motor does not use magnets containing rare earths and is expected to go into commercial production in 2014, the company said.

Hitachi started work on the project on 2008. Other Japanese firms, including automaker Toyota, have been working towards the same goal, spurred on by high prices of the minerals.

Permanent magnet motors usually contain rare earth such as neodymium and dysprosium and are in increasing demand for the growing number of hybrid and electric vehicles.

Japan has been seeking to reduce its dependence on rare earths and to diversify sourcing to cut its reliance on China, which controls more than 90 percent of global supplies and has moved to restrict production and exports.

[norwaypinesavage]

The magnets usually outlive the rest of the components in the device.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

I was gonna post that because...well...there is, of course, only one Rare Earth.

[FreeAtlanta]

When will someone start mining the huge waste heaps across our country and others? Imagine all the gold, silver, copper, rare earths and others stuff in those huge piles.

[Abathar]

I believe those are termed by the Whitehouse as “Strategic Reserves”...

[allen08gop]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1350811/In-China-true-cost-Britains-clean-green-wind-power-experiment-Pollution-disastrous-scale.html