Rethinking battery and e-motor materials

Experts reveal efforts to find lower cost, more strategically stable solutions that can improve system performance.

The future of vehicle electrification lies in developing lower cost, higher performance, and widely available materials for electric motors and batteries. Few topics are hotter than this within hybrid and EV engineering circles, as the industry grapples with the long-term supply of critical rare-earth metals and lithium.

Forecasters see demand for e-motors for automotive powertrain use growing more than 20% year-to-year between 2020-30, if hybrids become mainstream and EV demand takes off as many experts believe. Likewise, demand for strategic raw materials, including copper, neodymium, and lithium, is predicted to rise to 200 times the current level.