Grant: Alliance Grants

Electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining in popularity across Canada and worldwide. As the demand for EVs increases, so does the demand for efficient and sustainable vehicle subsystems. An EV's electric drive unit (EDU) consists of an electric motor, inverter, controls, and gearbox. Electric motors primarily use rare-earth based permanent magnets (PMs) due to their high performance, which enables higher power and torque density. However, rare-earth PMs currently account for 20-30% of the total electric motor costs, are limited in quantity, and their extraction and refinement process is not environmentally friendly. Thus, this project will develop an EDU with a rare-earth free or reduced permanent magnet (REFORM) motor with innovative rotor and stator topologies. Due to their lower remnant flux density, rare-earth free PMs result in lower power density EDUs. Thus, the research objective is to develop and prototype a high-performance REFORM motor through integrated electromagnetic, structural, control, and thermal optimization to achieve an EDU with power density comparable to a rare-earth PM EDU. This will help produce a sustainable solution with lower costs, CO2 emissions, supply chain risks, and cost/performance ratio for Canada's and global EV markets. An EDU prototype will be developed and tested for component and vehicle level performance using the Principal Investigator's CHARGE Lab facility at the University of Windsor (UofW). This collaborative project will be executed by UofW researchers in collaboration with Vitesco Technologies Canada Inc. and Ettractive. The project will train researchers at undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels who will acquire highly sought after technical skills and unique research expertise through engagement with industry. Research results will allow the industry partners to mass produce REFORM EDUs and gain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace with novel technology. Sustainable production of REFORM EDUs will have economic, environmental, and health benefits for Canada in: EV sector growth; reduced EV ownership cost; lower magnet supply chain risks; and lower GHG emissions.