Rare earths

AI-generated conceptual illustration of a cutaway magnet showing grains outlined by thin metallic shells, with an electric motor behind

Korean lab cuts the rarest ingredient in EV magnets by four-fifths

10 November 2026 / Critical materials

A DGIST team, part-funded by a Korean magnet maker, says a new diffusion recipe delivers comparable magnet performance with 80 per cent less dysprosium. The result is laboratory scale, and large magnets are the next test.

AI-generated conceptual illustration of a dense grid of bare semiconductor dice emitting white light, with a discarded yellow phosphor dome fading at the edge

Semiconductors

A white LED without the yellow powder

9 November 2026 / Semiconductors

Seoul Viosys says it is mass producing white light from gallium nitride alone, with no rare earth phosphor and no package, in chips as small as 10 micrometres. The claim is the company’s own, and the brightness per chip is tiny.