New EV motor said to cut need for rare-earth neodymium magnets

SHUHEI OCHIAI, Nikkei staff writerJuly 24, 2023 05:50 JST

TOKYO -- Japanese metal maker Proterial has developed a prototype motor for electric vehicles that uses magnets that do not contain the rare-earth metal neodymium.

Japanese metal maker Proterial has developed a prototype motor for electric vehicles that uses magnets that do not contain the rare-earth metal neodymium.

Ferrite magnets are only about one-tenth the strength of neodymium magnets, and until now have not been used in the major types of EV motors. Proterial said it has developed a technology to increase the output of a motor through a novel arrangement of the magnets. Tests with prototypes have confirmed that output usable for EVs can be obtained.

Proterial does not intend to mass-produce its own motors, but only to sell ferrite magnets and other materials to motor manufacturers seeking to reduce the risk of being denied access to rare earths. It plans to pursue sales activities with the aim of reaching full-scale adoption in EVs by the early 2030s.