According to Oak Ridge National Laboratory Materials Science and Technology Division researcher Larry Allard, "Increasing demand and a shrinking supply of rare earth elements for magnets creates a perfect opportunity for a research team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Minnesota. The goal is to create a recipe for a replacement that doesn't use scarce ingredients... Worldwide demand for rare earths is expected to exceed supply by some 40,000 tons annually by the end of this decade. In the past, 95 of that material has been supplied to the world by China, but in recent years China has begun limiting exports and by 2015 is expected to become a net importer."
展开▼
