Technology:
A
research team led by Akira Chiba of Tokyo Institute of Technology developed a
new rare-earth-free motor for hybrid vehicles. Powerful motors exclusively for
hybrid vehicles need rare earths like neodymium for their permanent magnets. Because
it is hard to establish stable procurement of rare earths, technology to reduce
the consumption of rare earths has been strongly desired.
Prof.
Chiba and his research members improved materials of the magnet core and their
arrangements. They successfully increased the output by about 60%. The new
motor has an output of 100 kW and more torque as compared with a motor of the
same size that has an output of 60 kW. Several companies including Hitachi
already developed rare-earth-free motors for industrial purposes, but no
rare-earth-free motor is currently available for hybrid vehicles. The research
team plans to put the motor into practical use in alliance with partner companies
of the joint research.
A rare-earth-free magnet motor
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