Nissan releases new electric vehicle motor with 40% lower rare earth consumption

Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. recently announced a new electric motor developed for electric vehicles that can reduce the consumption of rare earth element (REE) dysprosium (Dy) by 40% compared with traditional electric motors. This new environmentally friendly motor has been installed in the upgraded version of the pure electric vehicle Nissan Leaf released in Japan on November 20.

Nissan releases new electric vehicle motor, reducing rare earth consumption by 40%

The new motor developed by Nissan and its suppliers uses a breakthrough grain boundary diffusion process. The new processing technology improves the heat resistance of neodymium magnets while ensuring high performance output. The new motor not only maintains the same level of heat resistance as traditional motors, but also effectively reduces the consumption of dysprosium in the manufacturing process by 40%.

Dysprosium is a very rare element, and its reserves are geographically limited. With the increasing demand for electric vehicles and household appliances, the demand for dysprosium in the market is also increasing. Faced with the trend of clean energy products pouring into thousands of households around the world, major companies have also begun to focus on improving the efficiency of using rare elements such as dysprosium and reducing consumption.

Nissan is fully aware of the importance of reducing the consumption of rare earth resources. The development of this new electric motor will be the first step in reducing the consumption of rare earth elements. In the future, Nissan plans to use the grain boundary diffusion process in the development and manufacturing of hybrid engines, while striving to achieve the goal of zero dysprosium consumption in the manufacturing process of other parts.

In Nissan's mid-term environmental plan "Nissan Green Plan 2016", reducing the use of natural resources is one of the main goals. Under the guidance of this plan, Nissan has been actively promoting the reduction of the consumption of rare resources. In addition to reducing the consumption of dysprosium, Nissan is also committed to minimizing the use of other rare earth elements such as cerium (Ce) and lanthanum (La), which are currently commonly used in exhaust catalytic devices and cast iron processes related to automobile manufacturing.