Valeo, MAHLE Team Up on Breakthrough Electric Vehicle Motor Technology
Valeo and MAHLE have collaborated to develop an electric vehicle motor that doesn’t require costly, environmentally damaging materials, in addition to improving performance.
According to Ecoticias, the two suppliers are looking to increase EV performance through the creation of a new motor system with high efficiency, low emissions, and minimal costs.
To achieve this, the companies are looking to eliminate the use of magnets in an EV motor, which have traditionally been needed for magnetic fields. The problem is these magnets contain rare earth metals, which are both harmful to the environment and costly to source.
In substitution of these metals, and through Externally Excited Synchronous Motor technology, MAHLE and Valeo have implemented a system they’ve called Inner Brushless Electrical Excitation technology.
This is just part of a larger project the two companies are partnering on, which aims to develop an entirely new electric axle system solution for upper segment EVs. The goal is for this system to provide peak power in the 220 kW–350 kW range; or 295–470 horsepower. Prototype testing on Valeo and MAHLE’s magnet-free electric axle system set to finish up by the end of this year.
