It seems like the whole world is rushing to find fuel-efficient solutions and cut down on emissions.
Europe is introducing more low-emission zones. France planning to take that goal further with zero-emission (as they do). Now, Mahle, a German automotive parts manufacturer, has just contributed to their part in the race for clean air.
The German manufacturer has managed to create an EV motor that removes the need for rare earth magnets, creating a contactless electric current opposition in a motor that boasts 95% efficiency.
Miraculously enough, they’ve managed to do so without running into additional component shortages, as many other manufacturers have experienced.
In a traditional EV motor, a coil of wire spins encircled by magnets. When the coil’s electric current emits its own little magnetic field, it opposes the magnetic field emitted by the magnets. The opposition of fields causes the coil to spin or rotate at high speed, creating harnessed energy to power a machine from point A to B.
According to Mahle‘s website, the motor uses electric currents exclusively, with contactless power transmission. Electrical currents between the rotating and stationary parts inside the motor don’t allow those parts to touch, making the entire component wear-free.
The possibilities really are limitless since ‘contactless’ in this context means a maintenance-free motor with almost no need to replace individual components.
Not only that, Mahle’s contactless inductive EV motor effective – particularly at high speeds – with a 95% efficiency previously only seen in formula E cars.
“With our new electric motor, we’re living up to our responsibility as a sustainably operating company,” says Michael Frick, Chairman of the MAHLE Management Board (ad interim) and CFO. “Dispensing with magnets and therefore the use of rare earth elements offers great potential not only from a geopolitical perspective but also with regard to the responsible use of nature and resources.”
Dr. Martin Berger, Vice President Corporate Research and Advanced Engineering at MAHLE, also says the following:
“Our magnet-free motor can certainly be described as a breakthrough because it provides several advantages that have not yet been combined in a product of this type. As a result, we can offer our customers a product with outstanding efficiency at a comparatively low cost.”
Mahle has released their new generation of EV motors to the masses on their website, with plans to further implement the motors into the vehicle industry in the coming years – and I’m excited to see what this means for the motorcycle industry.