Prospects for Non-Rare Earth Permanent Magnets for Traction Motors and Generators

With the advent of high-flux density permanent magnets based on rare earth elements such as neodymium (Nd) in the 1980s, permanent magnet-based electric machines had a clear performance and cost advantage over induction machines when weight and size were factors such as in hybrid electric vehicles and wind turbines. However, the advantages of the permanent magnet-based electric machines may be overshadowed by supply constraints and high prices of their key constituents, rare earth elements, which have seen nearly a 10-fold increase in price in the last 5?years and the imposition of export limits by the major producing country, China, since 2010. We outline the challenges, prospects, and pitfalls for several potential alloys that could replace Nd-based permanent magnets with more abundant and less strategically important elements.