A: Hey there! You haven't told me anything new lately, have you?
B: Not really, what's up?

A: Well, guess what? Japanese car parts companies are trying to make electric vehicle motors that don't need as much of a special material.
B: Really? And who is working on this?

A: Astemo! They say they've made a motor just as powerful without using a rare-earth called neodymium, which China mainly supplies.
B: Wow, that's interesting! So, what's their plan now?

A: They want to mass-produce it around 2030. Their guy in charge says they've always worried about getting this special material because China controls a lot of it. He said they want to make powerful motors all the time, and this is how they can do it.
B: That sounds like a big deal! I heard some finance ministers from rich countries had a chat about something similar recently.

A: Yeah, you're right! They were worried about policies that mess up supply chains of critical minerals, and China was mentioned. It seems like they're trying to find alternatives to avoid depending on them too much.