Modal Motors cuts rare earths to ditch China supply chain — SkimNews
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- Modal Motors is developing two electric motor products — one for drones and another flat 'Hybrid Enigma Drive' — designed to operate without rare-earth magnets, reducing reliance on Chinese supply chains.
- Michael Van Steenburg claims most U.S. 'reshoring' efforts still depend on rare-earth magnets and are therefore not truly independent from China, whose control over the global supply chain he calls a 'slow-motion train wreck'.
- Modal Motors argues that domestic U.S. production of rare-earth magnets remains years away, making current alternatives insufficient for true supply chain independence in electric motor manufacturing.
- Michael Van Steenburg previously worked on a hybrid drivetrain in the 1990s that China sought for its 'People’s Car,' adding personal irony to his current mission of decoupling U.S. tech from Chinese material dominance.
Why it matters: By eliminating rare-earth magnets entirely, Modal Motors bypasses a key bottleneck in U.S. electrification efforts where China controls over 80% of processing. This shifts the competitive edge to designs that avoid dependency rather than waiting for a domestic rare-earth industry that remains years from viability.
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