How Electric Motors are Evolving and Becoming Energy Efficient

Janifha Evangeline

Electric Motors market in India is anticipated to register a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5.9 percent till 2026, as per a Research and Market report. Electric motors have created an impact in almost every aspect of today’s modern living. A multitude of appliances and devices such as refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, air conditioners, fans, computer hard drives, automatic car windows, etc. use electric motors for converting electrical energy into mechanical energy. Also, electric motors play a major and critical role in majority of industrial processes.

Electric motors are used in the manufacturing process of almost all imaginable products which are manufactured in modern factories, these days. They are used in various equipment throughout the industry such as compressors, pumps, lathes, HVAC systems, crushers, fans & blowers, heavy-duty equipment. Owing to the unlimited number of applications for electric motors, it is easy to imagine that there are around 700 million-plus motors that come in different sizes and are in operation around the globe and these wide ranges of motors and motor drives have made a notable impact on the world, due to the amount of power consumed by them.

Rising demand for electric motors

The increased recognition and acceptance of electric vehicles is bolstering the electric motors market growth both globally as well as in India. Furthermore, the increase in demand for automotive electric motors due to increasing fuel prices and stringent regulations followed towards decreasing air pollution levels across the country is anticipated to drive the market growth.

Also, the FAME II scheme - which is launched to drive increased adoption of Electric Vehicles in the country, is anticipated to be one of the major reasons boosting the demand for the electric motors in India. Other significant initiatives such as the Make in India program, with an aim of making India a global manufacturing hub, Smart City Mission, AMRUT, affordable housing, etc. are anticipated to promote the electric motor market growth in the future.

Revision in the FAME (II) policy

Electric 2-wheeler makers on June 12th, 2021, termed as ‘’a phenomenal move’’ by the Indian government to raise the subsidy for such EVs by 50 percent under the Fame-II scheme. They stated that it will be a game-changer in the adoption of an eco-friendly vehicle.

"The revision in the FAME (II) policy, increasing the subsidy by 50 per cent per KWh is a phenomenal move. Sales of electric two-wheelers have grown despite the pandemic and with this additional subsidy, we expect electric two-wheeler sales to disrupt the market, and clock 6 million-plus units by 2025," Ather Energy CEO and Co-founder Tarun Mehta said in a statement. “The government's continued support to drive adoption of EVs, with a keen focus on locally built electric two-wheelers will make India the manufacturing hub of EVs,” he added.

Tesla’s new electric motor

Elon Reeve Musk, the Founder, Chief Operating Officer, and Engineer at SpaceX and Product architect of Tesla has provided information regarding the details of Tesla’s new electric motor – the Plaid carbon wrapped motor. He has also teased the higher RPM version coming to the new Roadster. Elon explained about a brand-new battery pack without getting into the details of it and he unveiled Tesla’s new Plaid carbon-wrapped motor. Elon talked about the new technology and provided some information regarding the same. He stated that this technology allows for smaller, but more powerful, and efficient motors.

In a new series of tweets yesterday, the CEO elaborated on that machine, "Fiber is wound over rotor at high tension load. The machine to do this was made by Tesla Automation. Carbon sleeve must put the copper rotor in compression or it loosens at low temp due to differential thermal expansion. Preload is also helpful for maintaining the precise gap to the stator," the Tesla CEO said. Elon also elaborated about the merits of the new motor, comparing its predecessors.

"Main advantage of this is a much stronger EM field compared with a rotor that is held together by metal (usually high strength steel). Another advantage is that rotor can go to higher RPM, as carbon sleeve (mostly) stops copper rotor from expanding due to radial acceleration," Musk said.

In short, this new carbon-wrapped rotor facilitates Tesla to take its new motors to a greater and higher performance level.

Revolutionizing the sustainability of electric motors

Bentley Motors – a British manufacturer and marketer of luxury cars has recently made an announcement regarding a 3-year research study that is intended to revolutionize the sustainability of electric motors. Owing to Bentley’s commitment to providing only hybrid/ EVs (electric vehicles) by 2026, the result is anticipated to see recycled rare-earth magnets that are implemented only in selected ancillary motors for the very first time.

Titled ‘RaRE (Rare-earth Recycling for E-machines)’ this study aims to develop further or build on work completed at the University of Birmingham. This is with regards to the devising methods to extract magnets from waste electronics. Moreover, this project is anticipated to scale up the process and repurpose the extracted magnetic material into new recyclable magnets, so that they can be made use within bespoke ancillary motors.

Commenting on Bentley’s research ambitions, Dr. Matthias Rabe, member of the board for engineering, Bentley Motors, said, “As we accelerate our journey to electrification, offering only hybrid or electric vehicles by 2026, and full electric by 2030, it is important that we focus on every aspect of vehicle sustainability, including sustainable methods of sourcing materials and components.

“RaRE promises a step-change in electrical recyclability, providing a source of truly bespoke, low voltage motors for several different applications and we are confident the results will provide a basis for fully sustainable electric drives.”