Mahle AG
Mahle's magnet-free EV motor.
New improvements boost the efficiency of inductive motors to make them competitive with ethically fraught rare earth permanent magnet motors.
The electric motors that power today’s EVs rely on permanent magnets made using rare-earth metals such as neodymium. Rare earths are the 15 elements whose atomic numbers run from 57 to 71, plus yttrium and scandium. They are silvery-white soft heavy metals.
The U.S. Geological Survey explains in a press release:
“Rare-earth elements (REE) are necessary components of more than 200 products across a wide range of applications, especially high-tech consumer products, such as cellular telephones, computer hard drives, electric and hybrid vehicles, and flat-screen monitors and televisions. Significant defense applications include electronic displays, guidance systems, lasers, and radar and sonar systems. Although the amount of REE used in a product may not be a significant part of that product by weight, value, or volume, the REE can be necessary for the device to function. For example, magnets made of REE often represent only a small fraction of the total weight, but without them, the spindle motors and voice coils of desktops and laptops would not be possible.”