Current Status of Permanent Magnet Industry in the United States

8/2/2019 Current Status of Permanent Magnet Industry in the United States

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Original manuscript, Proceedings of 20th International Workshop onRARE EARTH PERMANENT MAGNETS AND THEIR APPLICATIONS, Sept. 8-10, 2008, Crete, Greece

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Current Status of Permanent Magnet Industry in the United States

M. H. Walmer, J. F. Liu* and P. C. Dent

*Contact author, phone: 1-717-898-2294, fax: 1-717-898-0660,E-mail: [email protected] Energy Corporation, 924 Links Ave, Landisville, PA 17538, USA

Abstract

The permanent magnet industry in the United States has been declining in recent years due tooffshore competition and lack of breakthroughs in new magnet research. Although the UnitedStates represents the largest market for neodymium-iron-boron (Nd-Fe-B) magnets, there are noUS Nd-Fe-B producers left; all US suppliers of this material are either distributors or value-added resellers of product produced in Asia and Europe. Primary applications includeautomotive, personal computers, commercial motors and generators, medical, meters and gauges.

The production of Sm-Co magnets has been steady over the last decade primarily due to strongdemand in aerospace and military markets. Main applications include high performance specialtymotors and generators, space propulsion systems, inertial devices, medical devices, and travelingwave tubes and other high power microwave amplifiers. Alnico magnet production still exists inthe United States to address specialty applications but has been flat in recent years. In this paperwe will provide a brief review of the manufacturing activities and main permanent magnetapplications in the United States.

Keywords: Permanent magnet, magnet industry, Sm-Co magnets, Nd-Fe-B magnets, magnetapplications

1. Introduction

Sintered SmCo5 and Sm(Co,Fe,Cu,Zr)zmagnets were developed in late 1960s and1970s, respectively. SmCo5 magnet has veryhigh magnetocrytalline anisotropy, whichresults in high intrinsic coercivity. Theresidual induction, on the other hand, isrelatively low at ~8750 G. The maximumenergy product of SmCo5 magnets is ~18 to20 MGOe. Research activities in 1970s werefocused on the enhancement of residual

induction without significant reduction ofintrinsic coercivity. The focus shifted fromSmCo5 to another intermetallic compound,Sm2Co17. The first attempts included addingFe at the expense of Co, but attempts todevelop high intrinsic coercivity inSm2(Co,Fe)17 alloys were not very successfuluntil the mid 1970s when Cu and Zr were

introduced to Sm(Co,Fe)z alloys. It wasfound that the cellular microstructure formedby the addition of Cu and Zr is critical for thedevelopment of intrinsic coercivity inSm(Co,Fe,Cu,Zr)z magnets, which have amaximum energy product of as high as 33MGOe.

Cobalt is a strategic metal and is brought tomarket as a result of Cu and Ni miningoperations located in relatively unstable parts

of the world. Supply has grown withdemand but the price has been volatile. Thisvolatility stimulated research to develop aCo-free magnet material and led to the Nd-Fealloy system. Replacement of cobalt with themore abundant element Fe not only reducedthe cost but also increased the saturationmagnetization of the material. Replacementof Sm with the more abundant element Nd

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_____________________________________________________________________________________________also reduced the cost and increased thesaturation magnetization. But earlyexperiments did not yield good magneticproperties. The addition of boron proved tobe critical for the formation of the newNd2Fe14B phase, although it was intended

only for helping the formation of anamorphous phase using a melt-spinningprocess at the very beginning. In 1983,Nd2Fe14B based magnets were introduced.Acceptance and commercialization of thisnew material occurred very quickly.

Figure 1. Various types of permanentmagnets

Figure 2. Maximum energy product ofpermanent magnets developed in the last

century

Figure 1 shows an overview of all the varioustypes of permanent magnets available today.Figure 2 shows the maximum energy product,(BH)max, of permanent magnets developed inthe last century. Significant progress in themaximum energy product of permanentmagnets was made in 1970s, 1980s and1990s. Although the scientific community

has made some good progress in thedevelopment of new phases and newprocesses during the late 1990s and 2000s,no real progress in the development ofcommercially viable rare earth permanentmagnets, since the discovery of Nd-Fe-B

magnets, has been made.

2. Rare Earth Magnet Industry in the

United States

The permanent magnet industry has beendeclining in recent years due to a number ofreasons, including:

Nd-Fe-BMagnetsNd-Fe-BMagnets

Sm-CoMagnet

Sm-CoMagnet

Strontium FerriteStrontium Ferrite

Barium FerriteBarium Ferrite

PermanentMagnets

PermanentMagnets

Bonded Magnets(Rubber/Plastic)


MetalMagnets

MetalMagnets

FerriteMagnets

FerriteMagnets

RE MagnetsRE Magnets

Alnico MagnetsAlnico Magnets

Bonded Ferrite MagnetsBonded Ferrite Magnets

Bonded RE MagnetsBonded RE Magnets

SmCo 1:5SmCo 1:5

SmCo 2:17SmCo 2:17

Other MagnetsOther Magnets

Nd-Fe-BMagnetsNd-Fe-BMagnets

Sm-CoMagnet

Sm-CoMagnet

Strontium FerriteStrontium Ferrite

Barium FerriteBarium Ferrite

PermanentMagnets

PermanentMagnets



MetalMagnets

MetalMagnets

FerriteMagnets

FerriteMagnets

RE MagnetsRE Magnets

Alnico MagnetsAlnico Magnets

Bonded Ferrite MagnetsBonded Ferrite Magnets

Bonded RE MagnetsBonded RE Magnets

SmCo 1:5SmCo 1:5

SmCo 2:17SmCo 2:17

Other MagnetsOther Magnets

(1) Low-cost magnets from Chinasqueezed the profitability of U.S producers;(2) Many customers for permanentmagnets have relocated to Asia. (It makessense for the magnet producers to be closerto their customers);(3) The majority of rare earth metalscome from China; Chinese magnetproducers are close to the inexpensive rawmaterials as well as low-cost labor forceand engineering talent;(4) The quality of permanent magnetsmade in China has improved significantly;

1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Year

50

40

30

20

10

0

(BH)max(MGOe)

(BH)max

(kJ/m3)

400

320

240

160

80

0

KS SteelMK Steel

Alnico

Alnico

Hard Ferrite

SmCo5

Sm(Co,Fe,Cu,Zr)z

Nd-Fe-B

1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Year

50

40

30

20

10

0

(BH)max(MGOe)

(BH)max

(kJ/m3)

400

320

240

160

80

0

KS SteelMK Steel

Alnico

Alnico

Hard Ferrite

SmCo5

Sm(Co,Fe,Cu,Zr)z

Nd-Fe-B (5) Industry consolidation.In the 1990s, there were at least four majorNd-Fe-B magnet producers in the UnitedStates, Ugimag, Hitachi, Crumax, andMagnequench. Today there are no Nd-Fe-Bmagnet producers left in the U.S.Magnequench relocated its headquarters andR&D Center to Singapore and its productionfacilities to China, while the magnetproduction plants of Ugimag, Hitachi andCrumax are closed in the United States.

There were at least five Sm-Co producers inthe United States in 1990, including EEC,Arnold, Crucible, Hitachi, and Ugimag.Today, EEC is the only vertically integratedSm-Co magnet producer in the United States.Ugimag was closed in the 1990s, HitachisMichigan facility was closed in 2005, while

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Arnold consolidated its SmCo manufacturingcapability to its UK facility, which wasrecently closed as well. EEC serves a smallSm-Co magnet market with very demandingapplications. Expertise in this area is one of

the reasons for its commercial success in theU.S. market.

There is still significant production capabilitytoday for bonded magnets in the UnitedStates. Main players in the bonded magnetarena include Magnet Applications, Ltd.(recently acquired by Bunting Magnetics),Tengam, ECS, Arnold, Magnum Magnetics,and Electrodyne.

United States also has production capabilityfor Alnico magnets. Major Alnico producersin the U.S. include Thomas & Skinner,Arnold and the Permanent Magnet Company.

3. Rare Earth Resources

China is the worlds largest producer andlargest consumer of rare earth materials.About 94% of the rare earth oxides (REO)and almost 100% of the rare earth metalsconsumed today are produced in China.About 50% of the total rare earth oxides andrare earth metals are consumed in China.

The price of rare earth oxides and metalsdeclined significantly in the 1990s and early2000s, which was primarily due to thecompetition between Chinese companies.But since late 2005, neodymium prices haveincreased significantly. This is primarily dueto the strong demand worldwide, miningquotas, active enforcement of environmentalpolicies and shutting down offenders inChina. The production of rare earth metalselsewhere has become more attractive due toprice hikes, although China may still remainas the lowest cost producer in the near future.Global demand of rare earth oxide isestimated at about 100,000 - 120,000 metric

tons in 2007, and forecasted to grow at about9% per year through 2012. Supply shortfallsare predicted in the near future as domesticconsumption in China could exceed supply in10 years.

After production suspension for almost adecade, Chevron Mining, Inc., formallyMolycorp, started recently to processbastnasite from its current inventory at theMountain Pass Mine, which is located about50 miles south of Las Vegas, NV. TheMountain Pass mine has been an integralplayer in the rare earth industry for over 50years. Today, the global demand for rareearth products has led to robust and growing

markets. Mountain Pass has responded byrestarting separation capabilities and onceagain manufacturing rare earth products.Table 1 shows the composition of thebastnasite at Mt. Pass [1].

Table 1. Composition (in wt%) of bastnasiteat Mt. Pass [1]

La Ce Pr NdSmEu Gd Tb Dy OtherREO

33.249.34.312 0.80.11 0.18 0.016 0.0310.063

4. Value-Added Business in the Permanent

Magnet Industry

Value-added magnet business, such as theproduction of assemblies and or subsystems,is doing well in the United States. Somemagnet producers and fabricators offerdesign services using finite element analysis,such as Dexter, Arnold and EEC. This trend

will continue because offshore producersmay not be able to provide this serviceeffectively.

5. Permanent Magnet Applications

Some major magnet applications are relatedto more efficient motors and generators.Therefore we could not start the discussion

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of future permanent magnet markets withoutmentioning the oil market.

Figure 3. NYME crude oil futures in the last

12 months [2]

The crude oil futures went up significantly inthe last 12 months and are currently above$140 per barrel. Figure 3 shows crude oilfutures on the New York MercantileExchange (NYMEX) in the last 12 months.Consumers felt the pinch at the gas pumps.Renewable energy, therefore, has become ahot topic and a profitable business. Windpower, hydropower, ocean wave and solar

power are receiving more attention. Theseare also called clean energy because there isalmost no environmental pollution.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles

The development of electric vehicle (EV)technology has taken on an accelerated pacewith increasing concerns of energy efficiencyand environmental protection. With the priceof oil at over $140 per barrel, hybrid vehiclesare getting more attractive to consumers too.Several hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) areon the market today. Best sellers include theToyota Prius, the Honda Insight and theHonda Civic. All major car producers aredeveloping more energy efficient hybridvehicles, and consumers will have more andmore choices which should, eventually, helpto drive the price down. Certainly, the current

premium of about $6000 for a hybrid vehiclewill decrease in the future. According to theUnited States Environmental ProtectionAgency, the 2008 Prius (see Figure 4) is themost fuel-efficient car sold in the U.S. [3].

Figure 4. Toyota Prius hybrid electric car

More and more passenger safety devices andcomfort/convenience features are beingadded to cars, most of which use some formof permanent magnets. Examples includeairbags and seat belt sensors, electric powersteering, liquid level sensors, sunroof motors,and door lock actuators. These new and/orimproved features in cars and trucks areanother driver for the permanent magnetindustry.

Wind Generators

Some wind power generators use permanentmagnets. The rapid development of windgeneration capacity is also related to currenthigh oil prices and the green energymovement. Figure 5 shows a 21st centurywind farm in the California Central Valleyand offshore wind turbines near Copenhagen[4].

The wind power industry is in an era ofsubstantial growth, both globally and in theUnited States. About 20,000 MW of windpower capacity was added in 2007worldwide, the highest volume achieved in asingle year. GE Wind was the dominantproducer of wind turbines in the U.S. market

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in 2007. Other major players in this fieldinclude Vestas, Siemens, Gamesa, andMitsubishi.

bringing the cumulative total to 16,904 MW,according to a report from U.S. Departmentof Energy [5]. Figure 6 shows the annualcapacity and cumulative U.S. wind powercapacity.

Permanent Magnet Motors

Apart from automotive applications, there isincreasing demand in permanent magnetmotors in a variety of applications to replacemechanical and/or hydraulic systems in orderto reduce the cost of maintenance. The highefficiency of permanent magnet motors iscertainly getting more and more attractivedue to high-energy costs. Some specialtymotors and generators for defense andmedical applications also use rare earthpermanent magnets. High power densitymotors and generators generally use high-energy product, sintered Nd-Fe-B magnetswith high intrinsic coercivity.

Figure 5. Top: A 21st century windfarm inthe California Central Valley. Bottom:Offshore wind turbines near Copenhagen

Figure 6. Annual capacity and cumulative capacity of U.S. wind power capacity

Medical Applications

Permanent magnet motors are used insurgical drills, saws and other medical tools.Sm-Co magnets are used due to the ability towithstand harsh autoclave conditions.

Permanent magnet MRIs use large quantitiesof Nd-Fe-B magnets in each unit. Demandfrom developing countries for permanentmagnet MRIs is expected to be a significantdriver in the growth of this application. Othermagnet applications in medical devices are


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Consumer Electronics and Computers

Permanent magnet applications in DVD, CD,cell phones and home appliance will continueto grow. Increasing demand is expected tocome from developing countries to keep pacewith ongoing lifestyle improvements. Thereare currently more than 600 million cellphone subscribers in China. Assumingexponential growth in this market continuesas weve seen in the U.S., that number willeasily double in a few short years. Voice coilmotors and hard disc drives in computers

will also continue to grow as the internetbecomes an increasingly essential tool forbusiness, leisure and communication. Growthwill again come from developing countrieswhose per-capita ownership of PCs islower than that in the developed world.

Traveling Wave Tube Amplifiers

A traveling wave tube is a microwave signalamplification device, used in space and

ground communications, and in electronicwarfare for missiles, ships and combataircraft. Sm-Co magnets are used due to theirhigh thermal stability andtem

Inertial Devices

Temperature-compensated Sm-Co basedmagnets are required for applications inaccelerometers and gyroscopes for inertial

guidance systems. These devices requireconstant magnetic field over a terange, typically -50C to +150C.

Other Applications

There are many other applications forpermanent magnets, such as actuators,

inverters, magnetic bearings and regulators,accelerators or colliders, ultra-high vacuumequipment, magnetic holding devices,magnetic implantable devices, magneticseparation sy

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Production activities in the United Stateshave declined in recent years. New materialdevelopment may revitalize the US magnetmanufacturing industry in the future. Thevalue-added business for magnet producersand fabricators in the United States is doing

well. The demand for permanent magnets isexpected to be strong in the next decade dueto new applications, population grodReferences[1] Bob Doll, Dayton Magneti9-10, 2008, Dayton, OH, USA[2] http://www.wtrg.com/daily/crudeoilprice.ht [3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farm[5] Annual Report on U.S. Wind Power

Installation, Cost, and Performance Trends: 2007,Department of Energy, U.S.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Priushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_farmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius

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Current Status of Permanent Magnet Industry in the United States