Engineering firm Ricardo has secured funding from the government to develop sustainable motors for electric light commercial vehicles.
The firm won two government-backed innovation competitions and will use the prize money to continue the development of its magnet-free sustainable electric motor concept, which uses aluminium parts, while retaining the key attributes of magnet-rich motors.
Ricardo aims to create technology which is, ‘robust, costs less than current products and reduces life cycle impact by eliminating the use of scarce resources’.
The firm hopes to develop its motor without large quantities of precious metals, for example it hopes to eliminate around 12kg of rare earth metals and high acidification materials such as copper without impacting the quality of the motor.
After securing funding via the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) and Innovation UK project, Ricardo hopes to create a sustainable motor for electric light commercial vehicles, and hopes to increase the take-up of such vehicles by making them more efficient and cost-effective.
Funding for the project has also been awarded by the Driving Electric Revolution Challenge at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is the one of the largest public funders of research and innovation in the UK, with a budget of more than £8bn.
Ricardo, alongside its consortium partners, aims to use this funding to get its motor concept to a higher level of manufacturing readiness.
Ricardo hopes that by creating a tested and validated motor, the UK will be able to scale up production of EV motors and accelerate the transition to electrified transport.
Commenting on the new funding, Ricardo Automotive president, Teri Hawksworth said, “Ricardo is committed to supporting manufacturers by driving cost out of electrification, leveraging our world-renowned expertise in motor innovation, and driving sustainable technology solutions which will support the UK in achieving its net zero carbon emission targets for commercial vehicles by 2030.”
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