YASA Honored for Lightweight EV Motor Technology
LONDON—YASA Ltd. has received the Royal Automobile Club’s prestigious Dewar Trophy for its axial-flux electric motor, which is smaller and lighter than traditional devices. It saves weight by using up to 80 percent less iron and significantly less copper than traditional e-motors.
The motor is scheduled to enter mass production in the next generation of Mercedes-Benz AMG cars in late 2025. YASA was acquired by Mercedes-Benz in 2021.
“[Our] vision has always been to make electric cars as light and sustainable as possible by reducing the electric motor’s mass and use of materials, while simultaneously maximizing its efficiency,” says Tim Woolmer, Ph.D., chief technology officer at YASA. “In addition to delivering a step-change in EV performance, our axial-flux electric motor is creating exciting new possibilities for car designers.”
According to Woolmer, axial flux motors require just one-third of the space and one-third of the weight of other devices, but deliver double the torque density.
“It’s an engineering breakthrough that has evolved electric propulsion to the next level, and is likely to influence the cars we will drive in the future,” claims Ben Cussons, chairman of the RAC’s Dewar Technical Committee. “YASA is also overturning the norms of materials technology and manufacturing processes, as it gears up to mass-produce its components.”
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