REPORT: China pondering hoarding precious metal exports used in hybrids and EVs by banning exportation
Ever hear of neodymium? How about dysprosium or yttrium? Thulium or lutetium? These are just some of the metals that China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is considering either banning for export or at least severely limiting the amount that it will let leave the country. These precious metals are used in manufacturing new, sometimes green, technologies, and China wants keep the good available for domestic use.
Neodymium, in particular, is required for making the electric motor in hybrid cars, and every Toyota Prius you've ever seen contains 25 pounds of rare earth elements. iPods, Blackberries and countless other items also require these rare earth minerals.
Right now, China mines more than 95 percent of the rare earth minerals that are taken out of the earth. While some might see the export limits as an act of aggression by China, an Australian rare metals expert told the Telegraph that, "This isn't about the China holding the world to ransom. They are saying we need these resources to develop our own economy and achieve energy efficiency, so go find your own supplies." Does this mean BYD will one day have a big, big advantage?
[Source: Telegraph via China Car Times | Image: Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
paulwesterberg 7:35PM (8/25/2009)
As far as I know the tesla roadsters 3-phase induction motor does not use neodymium magnets. But that doesn't seem to matter to some lazy "journalists" who like to go on about how unpossible evs are.
Why is this story tagged "false" does abg post untrue stories on purpose?
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JasonN 8:13PM (8/25/2009)
Doesn't bother me, I've already got my BYD stock!
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jpm 8:47PM (8/25/2009)
Aww c'mon China, we americans enriched you via Walwart... give us a break.
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Luke 9:21PM (8/25/2009)
The student has now become the master. The master is making his own rules. Get used to it, because no one has the stones to do anything about it.
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GoodCheer 3:34PM (8/26/2009)
Do anything like what?
How would you respond to any other country saying that America HAS to export something, rather than using it in domestic production. You'd have a kitten.
Dan Frederiksen 9:54PM (8/25/2009)
as already pointed out the Tesla Roadster (anything Alan Cocconi derived) use AC induction motors (which Nikola Tesla invented) and they don't use any permanent magnets, just the semi precious metal copper.
and any lithium salt shortage that might arise can be offset with sodium salt aka table salt of which there is a good amount. and of course we can recycle..
but one thing that will probably be in short supply soon unless we transition to EVs quick is fossil oil..
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why not the LS2LS7? 9:55PM (8/25/2009)
iPods only contain neodymium if they have a hard drive inside, and most iPods don't. Blackberries don't have hard drives at all.
I cannot see how this would give BYD a huge advantage, since a ban on exports means they cannot export the materials. It would seem like a disadvantage on the global market.
I can't really see this working. China makes their money on exports, sparking a trade war isn't in their best interest.
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Ralph 12:08AM (8/26/2009)
I think China has learned a valuable lesson via the global economic crisis. Relying too much on exports can have severe negative consequences. I expect to see a big push in the next few years for them to develop their domestic markets. By not selling off all their valuable resources they will ensure that they don't have to one day buy from foreign sources at high cost.
why not the LS2LS7? 1:54AM (8/26/2009)
If they stop exporting, their economic growth will slow hugely. Their domestic market is sizeable, but it's still peanuts next to the money they make off exports.
Julius 12:15AM (8/26/2009)
@ why not...
I'd expect there to be a ban on exporting the raw materials. I doubt there'd be a ban on a finished product - not when there's money to be made off of it.
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why not the LS2LS7? 1:52AM (8/26/2009)
Well, that makes a lot of sense. It turns their entire argument into a lie. But that's probably what it is.
Instead of those materials being critical to them, what they really mean is it's critical to them that they make more money off them than they would be exporting them directly.
Murc 12:48AM (8/26/2009)
This is just one more reason for America to be self sufficient.
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Stu 5:59AM (8/26/2009)
The problem the Chinese have is that they have helped to turn Western workers into debt-laden consumers of products made by them. However, with rising unemployment in the West and consumers not spending but paying off debt, Chinese exports are dropping.
The Chinese managed to kill off many of the other sources of these metals by flooding the market with them at low prices, and so it'll take a while for those sources to come back on stream. They did the same thing with many forms of manufacturing by keeping their currency artificially low and paying their workers a pittance.
Due to these tactics and the effect it has had on Western economies, China are likely worried that due to the falling value of the US Dollar, some manufacturers are likely to consider moving production either back to the US or somewhere cheaper. So to keep the jobs and expertise in China, they plan to stop these vital metals going out of the country in their raw form.
This looks very much like the first shots in a trade war. It's time for the West to wake up, rediscover their work ethic, and take the jobs back.
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John 6:57AM (8/26/2009)
Let me see if I have this right.
We have convinced ourselves that the world has reached peak oil, and we must seek energy independence by no longer drilling for our own oil and natural gas or using our coal. Instead we are going to legislate ourselves into more expensive renewable energy and electric storage technologies that require rare minerals that we do not control and that we also need for our many non-automotive tools.
Yeah that should work out OK.
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Duodenum 10:43AM (8/26/2009)
EXACTLY. If the US truly wants to be energy dependent, then the resources we use for energy have to be abundant in the US.
blah blah blah infrastructure blah blah big oil conspiracies blah blah blah, but this is a big point in favor of HFC vehicles -- we don't need to import anything.
Charles S 11:44AM (8/26/2009)
Two huge problems with domestic oil: cost, and actual yield.
Unless price per barrel stays HIGH, good luck in convincing oil companies to drill here domestically.
While there are claims of huge reserves here in US, even the best projected yearly output will likely never satisfy all of domestic consumption.
Lastly, unless US have trade laws that does not allow export of US oil, then domestic prices will still reflect the world prices. Since more and more cars will be sold in China, demand will likely still outpace supply down the road.
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Rick 3:05PM (8/26/2009)
Yea, well we need to eat corn...
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john 1:20AM (8/27/2009)
I'm sure these precious metals are used in many other things, and probably very little of it is used in an EV. Not newsworthy, moving on...
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