The British company Advanced Electric Machines is seeking £250 million investment to grow its business making unique electric vehicle motors which do not require rare magnets.

The Telegraph reports that AEM, which was spun out of Newcastle University in 2017, wants boost UK production capacity of its “switched reluctance motors”, which operate without permanent magnets. This is important because these magnets are likely to become increasingly rare as the world’s vehicles electrify.

The motors in AEM’s patented design rely on precisely timing how power is supplied to create electromagnetic fields, meaning they can be built out of cheap metals such as steel.

The Telegraph explains that until now they have been hard to control and have been marred by issues with noise and vibration. AEM has patented technology which it says solves these challenges and is working to get its systems into the mainstream.

Chairman Peter Fleet, a former vice president at Ford, said: “This is a unique technology that’s not just green because it doesn’t need rare magnets, it’s also lighter and more powerful than traditional motors, and wrapped up in patents that solve the challenges around it.”

{Picture – AEM)