Advanced Electric Machines develops 'most sustainable motor in the world'

Advanced Electric Machines (AEM), a spin-out from Newcastle University, has developed the HDSRM (High-Density Switched Reluctance Machine), which it claims is the most sustainable motor in the world.

The motor technology, which the company is presenting this week at the JSAE Spring Congress in Japan with support from the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre, is designed for use in hybrid, range-extended and electric commercial vehicles.

Conventional traction motors used in the automotive industry are based on the use of rare earth magnets, according to Dr James Widmer, CEO of AEM. But these are expensive and need to be removed before the motor can be recycled, in order to recover some of their cost, while there are also concerns about the availability of supply, said Widmer.

“If you are starting to consider electric vehicles being manufactured in larger and larger volumes, it makes a great deal of sense to try to eliminate these materials altogether,” he said.