Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation have unveiled the Universal Wheel Drive System (Uni Wheel). Uni Wheel is a functionally integrated wheel drive system that improves available space inside an electric vehicle (EV) by moving the main drive system components to the vacant space within the wheel hub. In doing... Read more →

Rare Element Resources (RER), a company seeking to advance the Bear Lodge Rare Earth Project in northeast Wyoming, announced that the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has finalized its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review of the company’s planned rare earth processing and separation... Read more →

GM and Niron Magnetics (earlier post) have completed a strategic partnership agreement to co-develop Clean Earth Magnet motor technology that can be used in future GM EVs. GM Ventures has also made an investment in Niron, which will join the ranks of its 30-plus portfolio companies. The investment will support... Read more →

NXP Semiconductors is expanding its scalable S32 vehicle compute platform with the introduction of the S32M2. The purpose-built motor control solution is optimized for efficiency improvement across vehicle applications such as pumps, fans, sunroof and seat position, seat belt pretensioners, trunk openers and more. Building on the success of the... Read more →

Audi is beginning production of electric motors for the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) in its plant in Győr, Hungary. The newly developed electric motors will be used for the first time in the Audi Q6 e-tron series. Production of the fully electric Audi model is scheduled to start at the... Read more →

Nippon Steel Corporation has dropped its lawsuits over electrical steel sheet patents against Toyota Motor Corporation brought in 2021, resulting in these cases being closed. Electrical steels (earlier post) are special steels optimized for specific magnetic properties, including a small hysteresis area for low power loss per cycle, low core... Read more →

From January through July of this year, 1,420 GW of motor power were deployed onto roads globally in newly-sold EVs (including plug-in and conventional hybrids), 53% more than the same period the year prior, according to Adamas Intelligence. Overall, the top 5 suppliers combined powered 54% of the market from... Read more →

Renault Group is designing a new motor that it powerful and efficient, and uses no rare earths. This third motor generation is a team adventure with Valeo, which is contributing its stator expertise. Renault Group is contributing the rotor. This new motor, E7A, is still at the prototype stage and... Read more →

Comau, a Stellantis company, has implemented a high-performance turnkey solution to automate manufacturing of NIO’s next-generation electric drive systems. The multi-faceted project also ensures fast and reliable co-line production for the electric vehicle manufacturer’s third-gen induction and permanent magnet motors, both of which are integral parts of its proprietary electric... Read more →

Equipmake, the UK-based engineering specialist pioneering the development and production of electrification products across the automotive, aerospace, bus, and coach industries, will collaborate with Perkins on a new off-highway hybrid system project. Awarded a total of £11.14 million (US$13.6 million) in government funding through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), with... Read more →

Continental has entered a strategic partnership with Munich-based high-tech company DeepDrive to develop core technologies for electric vehicles. As a first milestone, both companies will jointly develop a combined unit comprising drive and brake components for mounting directly on the vehicle wheel. DeepDrive is a specialist in the development of... Read more →

Global copper company First Quantum Minerals Ltd. has contracted with MECS, Inc. (MECS), a subsidiary of Elessent Clean Technologies, for the Kansanshi Smelter Expansion at the Kansanshi Mine in Solwezi, Zambia. The MECS scope will include a redesign of the existing sulfur-burning sulfuric acid plant into a copper smelter off-gas... Read more →

More than other e-models, the Audi Q4 e-tron family has contributed to the strong growth in deliveries in the first half of 2023 (+51.2%). Audi is now comprehensively updating the Q4 e-tron for the 2024 model year with a newly tuned suspension, increased efficiency, characteristic sound, and enhanced standard equipment.... Read more →

Ionic Technologies, Less Common Metals (LCM) and Ford will establish a demonstration circular supply chain for Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in the UK, by utilizing innovative technologies to create high-specification magnets containing 100% recycled REEs for use in Electrical Vehicles (EVs). Ionic Technologies has demonstrated patented technology at the demonstration... Read more →

A team of scientists from Ames National Laboratory is developing a new machine-learning (ML) model for discovering critical-element-free permanent magnet materials. The model predicts the Curie temperature of new material combinations. Curie temperature is the maximum temperature at which a material maintains its magnetism. A paper on the work is... Read more →

ZF has developed an electric motor which does not require magnets. In contrast to the magnet-free concepts of separately excited synchronous motors (SESM) already available today, ZF’s I2SM (In-Rotor Inductive-Excited Synchronous Motor) transmits the energy for the magnetic field via an inductive exciter inside the rotor shaft. This makes the... Read more →

In the early 1990s, Yamaha put major resources into developing the Power Assist System (PAS) for bicycles. Featuring an electric motor providing assistance to the pedaling input of the rider, the Yamaha PAS was fitted to a specially designed bicycle in 1993. Over the last 30 years, Yamaha has developed... Read more →

Bosch is now starting the production of new powertrain solutions based on 800-volt technology. This will make recharging faster and provide a further boost for electromobility. The 800-volt version of the inverter is based on silicon carbide semiconductors. These increase efficiency, and thus also range. In the 800-volt variant of... Read more →

REE Automotive, an automotive technology company and provider of full by-wire electric trucks and platforms, announced that joint testing with HORIBA-MIRA confirms the feasibility of REE’s x-by-wire vehicle control system to pass FMVSS certification requirements. REEcorner x-by-wire REE contracted HORIBA-MIRA, a world-leader in testing, to perform internal tests, modeling certain... Read more →

Rio Tinto and First Quantum Minerals have completed a transaction to form a joint venture that will work to unlock the development of the La Granja project in Peru, one of the largest undeveloped copper deposits in the world. (Earlier post.) La Granja is a complex orebody located at high... Read more →

DeepDrive, a Munich-based deep-tech company backed by BMW and Continental (earlier post), will unveil a new central drive unit for electric vehicles as a world premiere at the IAA Mobility 2023 (4 - 10 September). The company says it is actively working with several leading OEMs interested in the DeepDrive... Read more →

In May 2023, metallurgical coal producer Ramaco Resources, in association with with researchers from the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and analysts at mining consultancy Weir International, released an independent Exploration Target report with technical assessment of rare earth elements (REE) found at its Brook Mine in... Read more →

SAKOR Technologies , a recognized leader in the area of high-performance dynamometer systems, has developed a series of dynamometer systems ideal for customers required to test and verify the level of efficiency of electric motors in accordance with a variety of national and international standards, including IEC 60034-2-1; IEEE 112B;... Read more →

In June, BorgWarner announced the next phase of its “Charging Forward” strategy for advancing its position as a technology leader in e-Products, while maximizing its foundational portfolio. In its subsequent Q2 report, BorgWarner listed a number of e-Products wins, including: iDM for Chinese OEM. BorgWarner will supply a new integrated... Read more →

UK-based engineering specialist Equipmake provided an advanced electric propulsion unit (EPU) for Vertical Aerospace’s prototype eVTOL aircraft. Recently completing the first full-scale untethered eVTOL flights in the UK, the VX4 prototype features a totally bespoke EPU from Equipmake, combining a lightweight, power-dense electric motor with a high-performance inverter, designed, developed... Read more →

Magna announced the start of production of a first-to-market, modular eDecoupling unit to support multiple battery electric vehicle (BEV) programs for a German premium OEM. A bolt-on stand-alone solution for BEVs, Magna’s electro-magnetic eDecoupling is a robust, field-proven product technology that is integrated as a complete module. The eDecoupling is... Read more →

Vitesco Technologies, a leading international supplier of modern drive technologies and electrification solutions, is delivering its integrated axle drive EMR3 (3rd generation, Electronics Motor Reducer) to Honda for its new B-segment all-electric SUV. In Europe this vehicle, based on Honda’s new e:N Architecture F, will be marketed under the name... Read more →

Rio Tinto has agreed to purchase Pan American Silver’s stake in Agua de la Falda S.A. (ADLF), a company with exploration tenements in Chile’s prospective Atacama region, and to enter a joint venture with Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco) to explore and potentially develop Agua de la Falda’s... Read more →

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has created a framework to assess the economic viability of recovering rare earth elements (REEs) from unconventional feedstocks such as coal and coal waste—an advance that is part of NETL efforts to unlock new domestic sources of critical minerals (CM) that can ease US... Read more →

Proterial (formerly Hitachi Metals, earlier post) announced that by optimizing the design of a motor that uses proprietary high-performance ferrite magnet NMF-15 (ferrite magnet motor), it is possible to obtain the same level of output as an xEV drive motor that uses neodymium magnets. Rotor with ferrite magnets. As a... Read more →

MAHLE presented a new technology kit for electric motors that combines the advantages of its benchmark SCT (Superior Continuous Torque, earlier post) and MCT (Magnet-free Contactless Transmitter) electric motors. The Superior Continuous Torque (SCT) electric motor is the only electric traction motor available on the market to date which can... Read more →

Nissan’s Yokohama Plant produced its 40 millionth engine in June. The Yokohama Plant commenced operations in 1935, two years after Nissan’s founding. It built its 10 millionth engine in 1976, its 20 millionth in 1986 and its 30 millionth in 1997. A number of engines made by the Yokohama Plant... Read more →

ZF’s Commercial Vehicle Solutions (CVS) division presented its latest eMobility kit, which now includes all-electric central drives, axle drives and eComponents. Suitable for light-, medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and trailers, the integrated, modular e-driveline systems enable quiet and emission-free operation. AxTrax 2, AxTrax 2 dual and the previously launched CeTrax... Read more →

Stellantis N.V. and NioCorp Developments Ltd. have signed a rare earth offtake term sheet. The objective is to enter into a definitive rare earth supply agreement to support Stellantis’ commitment to build resilient supply chains and reach carbon net zero by 2038 and to help accelerate NioCorp’s path to commercial... Read more →

MagLev Aero, which recently emerged from stealth mode with its proprietary MagLev HyperDrive aero propulsion platform for eVTOL aircraft, has selected GE Additive’s AddWorks consultancy team to support the development of additive technologies and materials for the platform. MagLev Aero’s innovation enables a large rim-driven circular rotor that maximizes efficiency... Read more →

At its Global Technology Day in Friedrichshafen, ZF presented the electric concept vehicle EVbeat, which is designed for maximum compactness, low weight, and maximum efficiency in real operation. In this ZF electric vehicle, the components of an e-driveline have been optimized and combined into a holistic system. These include the... Read more →

Ford Performance is heading to the 101st running of “The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb brought to you by Gran Turismo” with the all-new, improved electric Ford SuperVan 4.2. Ford Performance and the experts at STARD (Stohl Advanced Research and Development) joined forces once again to create SuperVan 4.2... Read more →

Rio Tinto is investing in its Kennecott operation near Salt Lake City, Utah, to strengthen its supply of copper in the United States by increasing production from underground mining and improving the health of key assets. The Kennecott integrated copper mining operation includes a concentrator, smelter and refinery and tailings... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz presented a new sports car study, the Vision One-Eleven. Its technical highlights include the extremely powerful and highly efficient axial-flux motor developed by electric motor specialist YASA. The British company has been a 100% subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz AG since July 2021. (Earlier post.) YASA axial flux electric motor (left)... Read more →

MTU Aero Engines is developing fuel cell technology for aviation, initially targeting shorter commuter and regional flights. MTU’s Flying Fuel Cell (FFC) converts liquid hydrogen into electricity to power an electric motor driving the propeller. Among other things, we are forging ahead with the full electrification of the powertrain. We’ve... Read more →

Japan’s Nidec Corporation and Brazil’s Embraer agreed to establish a joint venture company, called Nidec Aerospace LLC, to develop electric propulsion systems for the aerospace sector. To be unveiled at the 54th biennial Paris Air Show this week, the JV aims to unlock new opportunities by providing an agnostic portfolio... Read more →

Aisin Corporation is developing an ultrahigh-efficiency motor using NANOMET jointly with Tohoku Magnet Institute (TMI), in which Aisin invested in June last year. A prototype was exhibited at the Automotive Engineering Exposition 2023, in Yokohama in May. NANOMET is a nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloy that achieves both high saturation magnetic... Read more →

AISIN Corporation, the fifth-largest Tier 1 auto supplier in the world, announced today that it will launch two new production lines with a total anticipated investment of more than $200 million at its AISIN North Carolina Corporation (ANC) facility in Durham, North Carolina. The new lines will incorporate a high... Read more →

A team of MIT engineers is developing a 1MW motor that could be a key stepping stone toward electrifying larger aircraft. The team has designed and tested the major components of the motor, and shown through detailed computations that the coupled components can work as a whole to generate one... Read more →

Aclara Resources, a development-stage company that focuses on heavy rare earth mineral resources, has started the continuous operation of its newly constructed pilot plant for the Penco Module near Concepcion, Chile. The company produced the first sample of high purity Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREE) concentrate after a successful commissioning... Read more →

Nidec Corporation and Renesas Electronics Corporation agreed to join forces on the development of semiconductor solutions for a next-generation E-Axle (X-in-1 system) that integrates an EV drive motor and power electronics for electric vehicles (EVs). The 3-in-1 unit E-Axle integrates a motor, inverter, and gearbox (reduction gear). To realize high-performance... Read more →

The US Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) announced up to $10 million in funding to develop novel manufacturing technologies for superconducting tapes. (DE-FOA-0002784 Modification 06) Enabling widely available low-cost, high-performance superconducting (HTS) tapes could help enable the market growth and proliferation of nuclear fusion, superconducting... Read more →

A group of industrial stakeholders, including the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, have sent President Biden a letter urging “your administration to make it clear that electrical steel is critical to the national and economic security of the United States and to prioritize actions that will create a sustainable supply.” Electrical... Read more →

Equipmake, a UK developer and manufacturer of electrification products for battery-electric vehicle drivetrains, will be showcasing its Ampere-220 e-axle system—a compact, lightweight, high-power electric drive system for manufacturers of high-performance EVs—at Battery Show Europe this week. Combining 3D-printed electric motors with all power electronics, including the company’s own silicon carbide... Read more →

Following a latent demand pop in 2021 that saw the materialization of some pent-up demand from the year prior, Adamas Intelligence data indicates that global consumption of NdFeB magnets increased just 1.9% year-over-year in 2022, suppressed by global economic headwinds and regional pandemic-related challenges. Now, in its latest annual report... Read more →