Wind Turbines – How Well Do You Know Your Supply Chain?
Demand for Nd across all industries was estimated at approximately 22,000mt in 2008. This demand eased in 2009 due to the global economic slowdown, and is expected to recover sometime in 2010. Global production of Nd is forcasted to be on the order of 33,000mt in 2014; however, demand figures are projected to be in the 35,000mt range at this time. Indeed, several industry experts predict a near-term shortage of this critical rare earth element.
The policies mentioned above on rare earth materials could effectively limit permanent magnet production outside China and cause
China – A Global Leader in Wind Turbine Production The Global Wind Energy Council reports that China once again doubled its installed capacity in 2008, bringing the total to 12.2GW. China has identified wind power as one of the key areas for growth and has publicly announced its intention to become the global leader in wind power production. New capacity is expected to double again in 2009, and China is predicted to soon overtake the US, Germany and Spain in installed capacity; it is also expected that China will meet its 2020 target of 30GW 10 years ahead of time. China Strategies LLC predicts that China will produce 100GW by 2020 – an increase of more than 800% over the current capacity. In addition, China has stated that it will be the global leader in the manufacture of wind turbines containing PMG.
Arguably, PMGs enable the construction of more efficient and reliable wind turbines for virtually any size wind project.
disruptions in the global wind energy component supply chain. Even if supply is not restricted, industry experts strongly suggest that significant additions to global rare earth manufacturing capacity will be required to meet the demand for the NdFeB magnets used in wind turbines, HEVs and other products.
Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that 50% or more of Chinese- made wind turbines will contain PMG, which will have a tremendous impact on the supply of Nd available to the rest of the world.
Use of Neodymium–Iron–Boron Magnets in Wind Turbines
A recent study by the Industrial Minerals Company of Australia suggests that current PMG-containing wind turbines are designed with about 400kg NdFeB magnet per MW of generating capacity; therefore, a 3MW turbine could contain about 1.2mt of NdFeB magnet. Assuming China indeed uses PMG in 50% of its turbine production and that it produces 100GW by 2020, the incremental demand for NdFeB magnets in this region alone would be a cumulative 20,000mt.
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