British electric motor specialist YASA has secured UK government funding to develop a new generation of axial-flux electric motors that could eliminate the need for rare-earth materials.
The technology is being developed through Project Resilience, which will investigate two complementary approaches aimed at reducing the automotive industry’s dependence on rare-earth magnets while maintaining the power density, efficiency and compact packaging required by modern electric vehicles.
For high-performance electric and hybrid vehicles, YASA will investigate heavy-rare-earth-free permanent-magnet motors. The company aims to maintain high power density without adding weight or increasing the motor’s size.
The second pathway will focus on developing completely rare-earth-free motor technology, giving manufacturers another option as concerns over supply security and environmental impact continue to grow.
Rare-earth materials are widely used in powerful electric motors, but their supply chains are heavily concentrated geographically. This leaves manufacturers exposed to geopolitical tensions, export restrictions, price fluctuations and potential shortages as global EV production increases.
Heavy rare earths are particularly important for helping magnets withstand the extreme temperatures experienced inside high-performance motors, but their extraction and processing can also have significant environmental costs.
“Project Resilience is about creating credible alternatives without losing sight of what vehicle manufacturers need from an electric motor,” said Tom Hillman, YASA’s Head of Motor Simulation.
The project is supported through the UK government’s DRIVE35 programme, which aims to accelerate advanced automotive technologies towards commercial production.
YASA believes its axial-flux architecture provides an ideal platform for developing these next-generation motors, potentially helping future electric and hybrid vehicles become more powerful, efficient and resilient to disruption in global raw-material supply chains.
