Every dog has his day, as the saying goes, and gadolinium’s been hogging the spotlight all week long. More than a week actually. Thanks to Tesla there has been a dramatic shift in the automotive industry towards adoption of the electric powertrain. And while gas makes pistons go up and down what makes an EV’s wheels spin round and round are magnets. Yes, the batteries provide the “fuel” but converting electricity into motion requires magnets. And the faster you want those wheels to spin the bigger and better those magnets need to be.

That’s where gadolinium comes in. While its use in these magnets makes up only a small portion of the whole (neodymium, dysprosium and iron making up the bulk) a pinch of good ol’ Gd is intentionally added to improve the magnets’ properties. However, while neodymium is rather common gadolinium isn’t so that even while being only a minor component of the whole the net effect still ends up having an outsized influence on the supply of this metal.

For the rare metals speculator, gadolinium’s star shines even brighter when taking into account that it can power a new class of refrigeration based on its unique magnetic properties. Only the expense of making solid gadolinium magnets is holding back more aggressive development of this tech but with the world going all-in on greener alternatives this is one innovation to keep an eye on.

Measures 15x8x1.1mm