The Future of Permanent-Magnet-Based Electric Motors: How Will Rare Earths Affect Electrification?

In this review article, we focus on the relationship between permanent magnets and the electric motor, as this relationship has not been covered in a review paper before. With the increasing focus on battery research, other parts of the electric system have been neglected. To make electrification a smooth transition, as has been promised by governing bodies, we need to understand and improve the electric motor and its main component, the magnet. Today’s review papers cover only the engineering perspective of the electric motor or the material-science perspective of the magnetic material, but not both together, which is a crucial part of understanding the needs of electric-motor design and the possibilities that a magnet can give them. We review the road that leads to today’s state-of-the-art in electric motors and magnet design and give possible future roads to tackle the obstacles ahead and reach the goals of a fully electric transportation system. With new technologies now available, like additive manufacturing and artificial intelligence, electric motor designers have not yet exploited the possibilities the new freedom of design brings. New out-of-the-box designs will have to emerge to realize the full potential of the new technology. We also focus on the rare-earth crisis and how future price fluctuations can be avoided. Recycling plays a huge role in this, and developing a self-sustained circular economy will be critical, but the road to it is still very steep, as ongoing projects show.