Molycorp, Inc. producer of rare earth oxides (REO), announced that it is making a significant investment in Boulder Wind Power, which has designed a rare earth magnet powered wind turbine generator that can produce electricity as low as $0.04 per kilowatt-hour.
Molycorp invested in Boulder Wind Power’s Series B Convertible Preferred Stock as part of a $35 million capital raise by the company. With the investment, Molycorp gains board representation in Boulder Wind Power and is positioned to be the "preferred provider" of rare earth magnets and/or alloys for wind generators using this technology. Molycorp is using cash from operational earnings for the investment. Other details of Molycorp’s investment were not disclosed.
Boulder Wind Power’s patented wind turbine technology allows for the use of rare earth permanent magnets that do not require dysprosium, a relatively scarce rare earth. By utilizing dysprosium-free permanent magnets, and other engineering innovations that dramatically reduce the use of structural steel and eliminate the use of expensive laminated electrical steel, wind turbines incorporating Boulder Wind Power’s technology are expected to produce power at or below $0.04 cents per kilowatt-hour, positioning it to compete directly with fossil fuel-based generation.
Joining Molycorp in this investment round was the venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates (NEA), an early investor in Boulder Wind Power. NEA is a key investment player in the clean energy, IT, and health care spaces, with more than $11 billion in committed capital.
"Boulder Wind Power’s innovative technology promises to dramatically accelerate the global deployment of high-efficiency, advanced wind turbines," said Mark A. Smith, Molycorp’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "By effectively solving the dysprosium supply problem for the wind turbine industry, this technology removes a major hurdle to the expansion of permanent magnet generator wind turbines across global markets. This investment also furthers Molycorp’s ’mine-to-magnets’ business strategy, and our commitment to manufacturing value-added ’green energy materials,’ by providing us with potentially large markets for the magnetic rare earth materials we will produce."
Sandy Butterfield, Boulder Wind Power’s Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are thrilled to have Molycorp as a major investor and partner in Boulder Wind Power. Gaining access to Molycorp’s magnetic rare earth materials positions this superior technology to accelerate rapidly and our company to grow with it."
"Linking such an innovative wind energy technology with U.S. sourced rare earth production creates many potentially powerful synergies," said Dan Arvizu, Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). "It promises to strengthen the ability of the U.S. to manufacture wind turbines domestically and to compete more effectively in global markets."
