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McMaster switched reluctance motor spinout Enedym closes $15M funding round

Enedym, a switched reluctance motor (SRM) spinout from McMaster University, closed a $15-million financing round from an international group of strategic investors within the US, Canada, Europe, and India, including P&A Paletta Giving Inc., TRIO Capital Group Inc., Napino Group, KWG Capital Inc., Pathfinder Asset Management Limited, and others.

The new investment will be used to accelerate Enedym’s patented motor development technology and increase its footprint within the electric motor market. The company is focused on the digitization of next-generation electric propulsion and electrified powertrains. Enedym has ownership of more than 50 patents and significant IP in the space.

A decade ago, Dr. [Ali] Emadi established a world-leading research program to disrupt the design of electric motors. His team’s success has been remarkable and, in just a few short years, since the transfer of this technology to Enedym, they have developed innovative and software tools that will enable rapid transformation across multiple industries.

—Karen Mossman, McMaster University’s vice-president, research

The Enedym team has developed a disruptive way to design electric motors at a fraction of the time and cost of existing methods. Currently, a significant number of propulsion motors use expensive rare earth metals sourced predominantly from China in their permanent magnets. Enedym Switched Reluctance Motors (SRMs) remove the need for these costly magnets.

In a switched reluctance motor, torque is produced by the magnetic attraction of a steel rotor to stator electromagnets; there are no permanent magnets, and the rotor carries no windings. A controller energizes each stator winding only when it can produce useful torque. With suitable timing of the stator excitation, the machine can operate as a motor or generator. Switched reluctance motors are simple, robust and can offer very good efficiency over a wide load range.

Without permanent magnets, the SRMs have the potential to reduce the cost of propulsion motors by as much as 40%. Other advantages of SRMs, in addition to a low-cost structure, include high efficiency at high-speeds, fault tolerant operation, and the suitability to operate in harsh environments and at high temperature conditions. (Earlier post.)

SRMs have traditionally had challenges in the areas of acoustic noise, torque ripples, and power density. Enedym says it has successfully addressed these problems resulting in motors that are quiet, smooth, highly efficient, and power dense.

Napino group has continuously endeavored to invest in disruptive and pioneering electric vehicle technologies to promote green and sustainable future. Napino believes that Enedym’s patented SRM technology is a strong alternative to the conventional motor technologies. This innovative solution also reduces the over-dependency on rare earth magnets and sourcing challenges associated with it.

—Vaibhav Raheja, Joint Managing Director, and Naveen Kumar, CEO, Napino Group

Napino Group is a Tier 1 supplier of proprietary automotive solutions to the global original equipment manufacturers. It is a $230-million group by turnover.

In 2020, BMW i Ventures invested in Software Motor Company (SMC), a Silicon Valley-based company developing an electric motor system based on switched reluctance technology, managed by advanced cloud software. The Smart Motor system partners a patented high rotor pole switched reluctance motor (HRSRM) with matching motor controller, optional IoT Supervisor, and user-friendly software. (Earlier post.)

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