Rare Earth Metals Supply: The Next Microchip Crisis?
1.12.2021 11:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
With the heightened scrutiny of automotive contributions to climate change, automakers’ full attention is focused on electric vehicles (EVs). The electrification of transportation will help reduce reliance on fossil fuels, eliminate tailpipe emissions and help mitigate climate change. EVs, however, have a challenge: rare earth metals in their motors.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211201005051/en/
Tula’s DMD™ Dynamic Motor Drive paired with synchronous reluctance motors (pictured here) could help lower EV production costs. (Photo: Business Wire)
Rare earth metals are not rare in nature, but rarely are they concentrated in amounts that make extraction and processing economically feasible. Demand for rare earth metals is increasing in conjunction with the transition to an electrified future. The anticipated supply-demand imbalance, supply-chain management issues and escalating costs are causing automakers to look for other options.
Tula Technology, Inc., a leader in propulsion efficiency, recently authored a whitepaper titled “Rare Earth Materials and their Impact on the Future of Electric Motors,” that highlights the challenges associated with rare earth metals used in EV motors and offers practical alternatives.
Tula’s Dynamic Motor Drive (DMD™), a patented DMD pulse density strategy, avoids rare earth metals in EV motors by deploying synchronous reluctance motors (SynRMs), which typically do not utilize rare earth metals. The unique control algorithms implemented through DMD improve the efficiency of SynRMs, positioning them as a viable alternative to the permanent magnet motors used in the vast majority of EVs today.
“The limited supply of rare earths, coupled with growth in demand, has resulted in price increases that are likely to continue. Beyond pricing, rare earth dependence is increasing supply chain risk, and it could easily become the next microchip crisis for the automotive industry,” said R. Scott Bailey, president and CEO of Tula. “EV manufacturers can implement an economical solution while avoiding the challenges of rare earth metals by combining synchronous reluctance motors with DMD. Our solution could lead to broader consumer adoption of EVs by lowering costs.”
DMD provides the greatest benefit for off-grid applications like EVs where battery capacity or range are concerns. The benefits of DMD also can be substantial wherever motors and generators are used, such as home appliances, industrial motors or wind power generators.
Advancing the conversation and awareness around EV technologies, Tula engineers recently presented “Optimizing Electric Motor Controls with Dynamic Motor Drive” at the 2021 Aachen Colloquium on Sustainable Mobility, an annual conference held in Aachen, Germany, as well as the Aachen China Colloquium. Both conferences attract automotive experts and researchers from around the world to exchange ideas on future mobility.
For more information on Dynamic Motor Drive, visit tulatech.com/dmd.
About Tula Technology, Inc.
Silicon Valley-based Tula Technology provides innovative award-winning software controls to optimize propulsion efficiency and emissions across the mobility spectrum, including gasoline-powered, diesel, alternative fuel, hybrid, and electric vehicles. Tula’s culture of innovation has resulted in breakthrough technologies and a robust global patent portfolio of more than 380 patents issued and pending. Tula Technology is a privately held company backed by Sequoia Capital, Sigma Partners, Khosla Ventures, GM Ventures, BorgWarner and Franklin Templeton. More information is available at www.tulatech.com.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211201005051/en/
Contact information
Tula Technology, Inc.
Ram Subramanian
Principal Marketing Strategist
ram@tulatech.com
Media: Financial Profiles
Debbie Douglas, SVP
ddouglas@finprofiles.com
949-375-3436
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Philips and Imricor Launch Cardiac Interventional MR Lab Solution, Expanding Longstanding Collaboration27.8.2026 22:27:00 EEST | Press release
Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, and Imricor Medical Systems (ASX: IMR), a pioneer and world-leading developer of MR-compatible products for interventional MR procedures, today announced a new Interventional MR (iMR) lab solution for Philips 1.5T MR. The first commercially available configuration* combines Philips’ 1.5T MRI platform and Imricor's portfolio of iMR systems and consumables, enabling an MR-guided workflow for cardiac intervention, without compromising on MR field strength. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260827693715/en/ Meeting the need for greater tissue insight during cardiac intervention Cardiac arrhythmias affect millions of people worldwide, and catheter ablation is an established and increasingly utilized treatment for many complex cardiac arrhythmias. Yet today, these procedures continue to rely primarily on X-ray fluoroscopy, which provides only
Xsolla Launches Game Biz Institute, an Editorial Platform Where Industry Practitioners Explain the Business of Games27.8.2026 18:32:00 EEST | Press release
Xsolla, a global commerce company, today announced the launch of Game Biz Institute (GBI), an editorial platform where named industry practitioners and researchers examine the commercial layer of games: direct-to-player distribution, payments, monetization, user acquisition, and retention. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260827362663/en/ Graphic: Xsolla Game design has a curriculum. The business of games does not. Engines, pipelines, production, and narrative are taught at hundreds of universities, while the commercial machinery that determines whether good work becomes a durable company is still learned through expensive trial and error, usually after the decisions that mattered have already been made. GBI was built to close that gap by publishing what practitioners have actually learned running these businesses. "Game developers have never had more data and less clarity," said Chris Hewish, President of Xsol
Star Wars Zero Company™ Now Available On PC, PlayStation 5 and XBOX Series Consoles27.8.2026 18:00:00 EEST | Press release
Electronic Arts Inc. and Bit Reactor, in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games, announced today that Star Wars Zero Company™, a single-player turn-based tactics game set in the twilight of the Clone Wars™, is now available for PC via the EA app, Steam, and Epic Games Store, and PlayStation®5 and XBOX Series consoles. In Star Wars Zero Company, former Republic officer Hawks and Zero Company, an elite squad of unconventional professionals for hire, are recruited for an operation by Republic Intelligence. From ex-nobles to ex-cons, they now share one mission: Stop the Infinite Coil, a Separatist-aligned cult, and their leader Kundri Fathom before the deadly Shadow Plague consumes the galaxy. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260827012810/en/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=7SYogg8ILAD3tUG3&v=AxAgeglgSeA&feature=youtu.be “After all these years of hard work from our amazing team, Star Wars Zero Company is a go for laun
Rehlko Joins Wisconsin Data Center Coalition as Newest Energy Resilience Member, Reinforcing Its Role at the Center of AI and Digital Infrastructure Growth27.8.2026 16:15:00 EEST | Press release
Rehlko, a global industrial energy resilience platform providing custom-engineered, integrated power solutions for mission-critical infrastructure worldwide, today announced it has joined the Wisconsin Data Center Coalition (WIDCC) as the organization's newest energy resilience member. The membership reflects Rehlko's commitment to advancing Wisconsin's role as a leader in responsible AI infrastructure development, built on reliable and scalable power. Rapid growth in hyperscale and enterprise data center investment is reshaping markets across the world, and Rehlko is building the power infrastructure that makes it possible. Sitting at the intersection of the structural forces driving AI infrastructure expansion, grid reliability, and accelerating electrification, Rehlko brings more than a century of engineering depth and lifecycle capability to the table. WIDCC brings together stakeholders from across Wisconsin's technology, utility, economic development, workforce development, govern
GenNx360 Capital Partners Closes Fourth Flagship Fund at $865 Million27.8.2026 15:30:00 EEST | Press release
GenNx360 Capital Partners (“GenNx360” or “the Firm”), a New York City-based private equity firm investing in U.S. lower middle market industrial services and business services companies, today announced the successful closing of GenNx360 Capital Partners IV, L.P. (“Fund IV” or “the Fund”), with $865 million in commitments, exceeding its target. Fund IV is the largest fund raised in GenNx360’s history. Fund IV was supported by a diverse group of existing and new investors including leading pensions, asset managers, insurance companies, foundations, and family offices, reflecting conviction in the firm’s disciplined investment approach, operational value creation model, and tenured, diverse team. Fund IV will continue GenNx360’s differentiated strategy of partnering with lower middle market founders and management teams to scale essential services businesses. Fund IV has made five investments to date across infrastructure services, testing and inspection services, aerospace and defense,
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom