Element 66 · Lanthanide (Rare Earth)
Dysprosium
Dysprosium is the strategic rare earth that keeps electric vehicle motors operating at high temperatures.
Element Facts
SYMBOL
Dy
ATOMIC NO.
66
ATOMIC WEIGHT
162.50
CATEGORY
Lanthanide (Rare Earth)
PERIOD
Period 6
GROUP
Group 3
Discovery & History
Dysprosium was discovered in 1886 by French chemist Paul Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, who spent two years isolating it from holmium oxide through a painstaking series of fractional precipitations. He named it from the Greek dysprositos, meaning "hard to get," reflecting the extraordinary difficulty of its extraction.
For much of its early history, dysprosium had no practical application. It was a curiosity of rare earth chemistry — difficult to separate, expensive to purify, and seemingly without use. The rare earth elements were studied academically throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, but their commercial exploitation awaited the development of ion-exchange and solvent extraction techniques after World War II.
It was not until the development of modern permanent magnets in the 1980s that dysprosium found a critical role. Added to neodymium-iron-boron magnets, it dramatically improves their performance at elevated temperatures — essential for electric vehicle motors and wind turbine generators.
Quick Overview
Dysprosium is element 66, named from the Greek "dysprositos" meaning "hard to get hold of" — a name that proved prescient given today's strategic supply concerns.
Where It's Used
Critical addition (typically 2–11% by weight) to NdFeB magnets used in EV motors and wind turbine generators, where dysprosium's high coercivity at elevated temperatures prevents demagnetisation. Some laser and lighting applications.
Can You Sell It?
Why QuickStop Metals doesn’t buy Dysprosium:
Dysprosium recycling from spent magnets is technically possible but practised only at specialist rare earth recovery plants. UK scrap yards do not separate dysprosium from host steel/aluminium in mixed scrap.
Price Guide
Dysprosium oxide has traded at $250–500/kg over 2021–2026.