What Types of Rare Earth Elements Are Needed for New Energy Vehicles?
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New energy vehicles utilize both light and heavy rare earth elements. Rare earth elements are not actually 'earth' but a group of rare metals, consisting of the 15 lanthanides in the periodic table of chemical elements, along with two closely related elements—scandium (Sc) and yttrium (Y)—totaling 17 elements, which are further categorized into light and heavy rare earth elements. Applications of Rare Earth Elements: Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Motors: Rare earth permanent magnet motors are a new type of permanent magnet motor that emerged in the early 1970s. Their working principle is similar to that of electrically excited synchronous motors, with the key difference being that rare earth permanent magnets replace the excitation windings for magnetic field generation. Compared to traditional electrically excited motors, rare earth permanent magnet motors offer significant advantages, including simpler structure, reliable operation, compact size, lightweight, reduced losses, and high efficiency. Additionally, their shape and dimensions can be flexibly designed, making them highly valued in the new energy vehicle sector. Rare Earth Power Batteries: Rare earth elements not only participate in the preparation of electrode materials for mainstream lithium-ion batteries but also serve as excellent raw materials for the cathodes of lead-acid or nickel-metal hydride batteries. Patent JP2004127549 describes a battery anode composed of a rare earth-magnesium-nickel-based hydrogen storage alloy.
