TELF AG analyzes the role of rare earths in the robotics and advanced mobility sector 

The strategic value of rare earths 

The use of rare earths in several applications related to advanced technology, over the years, has transformed these 17 elements into some of the most sought-after resources globally, also due to their non-negligible role in innovative infrastructures related to renewable energy. One of their best-known applications is represented by magnets made of neodymium, iron, and boron, useful devices capable of converting energy into movement (and vice versa), finding wide application spaces in the drive motors of electric vehicles, in wind generators, in speakers, and sensors. 

However, according to a recent report prepared by Adamas Intelligence, these resources are destined to play an increasingly central role in other strategic sectors for humanity’s technological development, namely robotics and advanced air mobility. By 2040, as stated in the report, the global demand for rare earth elements could be driven by these two innovative sectors, whose impact on the global technological landscape would inevitably appear destined to grow in the coming years. 

The robotics sector, in particular, appears to have the best credentials to attract the majority of the demand for rare earths, in particular, due to the evident increase in the production of professional service robots in the manufacturing and hospitality sectors and the transport and logistics sectors. According to Adamas Intelligence, it is precisely the robotics sector that will determine the future growth in the global demand for magnets made with rare earths. The report also analyses the performance of the demand for magnets over the last few years, in particular in the period between 2022 and 2023, a period in which global requests for these devices increased by 13.3% (after a decline recorded in 2022 also due to the pandemic). 

The role of rare earths in advanced air mobility 

The advanced air mobility sector also appears to absorb many permanent magnets made with rare earths, especially for their central role in powering specific aircraft that could revolutionize the logistics sector. From recreational and commercial drones, according to the report, we could soon move on to more complex, more electric aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capabilities, potentially of great use in the transport and delivery sector. 

Thanks to the hypothesized increases in production levels in the air mobility and robotics sectors, Adamas Intelligence predicts that the demand for neodymium-iron-boron magnets could increase by 8.7% until 2040, also determining a similar increase in global demands for related raw materials, such as rare earths, whose demand rates could grow by 5.1% according to the research estimates. Among these elements, those most involved in the production processes of these technologies are terbium, dysprosium, and didymium (i.e., a particular mixture of neodymium and praseodymium). 

To keep pace with these possible increases, the Adamas Intelligence study argues that parallel increases in productivity levels may also be necessary, in particular by the largest global producer of rare earths, China, together with an increase in the development at a global level of 20 or 30 new mines specialized in these precious resources.