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Two questions: the article mentions "magnets made from a rare earth metal called dysprosium" are used in the motor. How rare is this and will it eventually limi

by cx1000 10y ago

Two questions: the article mentions "magnets made from a rare earth metal called dysprosium" are used in the motor. How rare is this and will it eventually limit volume? >the wide range of its current and projected uses, together with the lack of any immediately suitable replacement, makes dysprosium the single most critical element for emerging clean energy technologies - even their most conservative projections predict a shortfall of dysprosium before 2015. [0] My other question, as a non EV, owner is how easy is it to charge these? Can I charge from home or do I have to compete with others at charge stations? At work we have so many EVs that people have to rotate their cars throughout the day. Note: I'm pro electric car, just curious about scalability [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysprosium https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dysprosium

ygra 10y ago
»Despite their name, rare earth elements are – with the exception of the radioactive promethium – relatively plentiful in Earth's crust, with cerium being the 25th most abundant element at 68 parts per million, or as abundant as copper. They are not especially rare, but they tend to occur together in nature and are difficult to separate from one another.« —Wikipedia
WorldMaker 10y ago
It's pretty easy to charge an EV and many owners do charge at home as their primary place to charge. I have a '12 Volt that I charge on a standard outlet in my garage at home. This "trickle charge" is fairly slow, but enough to charge the Volt's smaller battery overnight and give me just shy of 40 miles for the day, which is more than enough most days to get to work, run errands, get back home on a single charge without needing to charge away from home (work doesn't have any chargers right now or easily accessible outside plugs) or use a cup or so of gas. This certainly works pretty well for me. I could install a higher voltage charger at home and charge faster, once I have the money to invest in that effort, but given my car is typically sitting in my garage overnight anyway, I haven't felt a strong need for it just yet. I think that home charging is something of an overlooked game changer about EVs. Admittedly not everyone will have that ability just yet (apartment complexes and people that need street parking don't easy available electricity to their parking spaces yet), but there is something really convenient to know that your car is charging at Home while you sleep where it would be sitting unused anyway.
- projektfu 10y ago
  I've also thought about a level 2 charger and I just haven't seen the need. If we accidentally forget to plug in overnight, we may temporarily have a gasoline car that is more efficient than any car I've previously owned.
greglindahl 10y ago
It's not necessary to use rare earth elements in an electric car motor -- Tesla doesn't, for example.

by cx1000 10y ago

ygra 10y ago

»Despite their name, rare earth elements are – with the exception of the radioactive promethium – relatively plentiful in Earth's crust, with cerium being the 25th most abundant element at 68 parts per million, or as abundant as copper. They are not especially rare, but they tend to occur together in nature and are difficult to separate from one another.« —Wikipedia

WorldMaker 10y ago

It's pretty easy to charge an EV and many owners do charge at home as their primary place to charge. I have a '12 Volt that I charge on a standard outlet in my garage at home. This "trickle charge" is fairly slow, but enough to charge the Volt's smaller battery overnight and give me just shy of 40 miles for the day, which is more than enough most days to get to work, run errands, get back home on a single charge without needing to charge away from home (work doesn't have any chargers right now or easily accessible outside plugs) or use a cup or so of gas. This certainly works pretty well for me. I could install a higher voltage charger at home and charge faster, once I have the money to invest in that effort, but given my car is typically sitting in my garage overnight anyway, I haven't felt a strong need for it just yet. I think that home charging is something of an overlooked game changer about EVs. Admittedly not everyone will have that ability just yet (apartment complexes and people that need street parking don't easy available electricity to their parking spaces yet), but there is something really convenient to know that your car is charging at Home while you sleep where it would be sitting unused anyway.

projektfu 10y ago
I've also thought about a level 2 charger and I just haven't seen the need. If we accidentally forget to plug in overnight, we may temporarily have a gasoline car that is more efficient than any car I've previously owned.

greglindahl 10y ago

It's not necessary to use rare earth elements in an electric car motor -- Tesla doesn't, for example.