Chances are, you do not realize just how prolific or important electric motors are to your daily life. “Electric motors are everywhere,” emphasizes Dr. Ali Emadi, the founder of Enedym – a startup that designs and produces electric motors – and a professor at McMaster University. “In your cars, sure. But also in your washing machines, your fans, your computers, your refrigerators, dryers, pumps, and HVAC systems. Anything that moves with some sort of electric power is an electric motor.”
More than 15 million electric motors of various sizes and functions are manufactured worldwide every single day. In North America, Dr. Emadi says, electric motors consume almost half of all the electric power that we generate: “Imagine, then, the implications, the job opportunities, the business, the impact on the environment that an improvement on electric motors can have on us all.”
Those opportunities for change led Dr. Emadi to join McMaster, and then to spin out a university start-up company in McMaster Innovation Park. Enedym is a forward-looking designer and future manufacturer of a unique kind of electric motor – one that promises to revolutionize not only the future of motors, but also the global economy.
To understand that potential, you first have to understand how electric motors are made.
The vast majority of electric propulsion motors use permanent magnets. Simply put, it’s the magnetic field that causes the motors to spin and create power. And the vast majority of permanent magnets are made with rare earth minerals. “And that’s where the problem is,” says Dr. Emadi.
“84% of the world’s rare earth minerals are either mined or processed in China,” he
explains. That gives China a significant chokehold on the supply of these essential materials, which means heightened costs to manufacture or repair (“About 40% of the cost to make an electric motor is in acquiring the magnet,” Dr. Emadi says).
But Enedym has managed to side-step this roadblock in a big way. Enedym’s electric motors don’t use permanent magnets at all, which means they also don’t have a reliance on rare earth minerals.
If you’re curious, that’s the sound of every engineer in Hamilton picking their jaws up from the ground.
“Our motors use electrical steel,” Dr. Emadi says, referring to an iron alloy with a low-percentage of silicon. The silicon lowers the conductability of the steel, which reduces the motor core power losses.
Along with copper or aluminum as the motor windings, energized by electronics and sophisticated control software, the electrical steel can generate its own electromagnetic field. Essentially, it can do the same thing as in permanent magnet motors, but without the magnets.
Dr. Emadi sees almost limitless potential for their new motors, but he does see the value in focusing on a specific niche, first. “We’re developing automotive traction motors,” he says, grinning. “I know some people think they don’t like electric cars. Well, to them I say: try test driving an electric or hybrid electric car. You’ll likely change your mind right away.”
Enedym says that they’ve fitted one of their motors into a Cadillac Lyriq as part of McMaster’s entry to the EcoCAR competition, sponsored by both GM and the U.S. Department of Energy. They’re also collaborating with Toyota Tsusho to build new luggage towing vehicles – the trucks that bring your luggage from the airport to the cargo holds of the plane – that primarily use electric motors.
“When we think about this technology, I get very excited,” Dr. Emadi beams. “The future is here, and it’s in Hamilton.” – Dr. Al Emadi, the founder of Enedym.
Quick Notes: The Electric City
Dr. Emadi had lots to say about Hamilton. “Hamilton used to be called ‘The Electric City’, because it was one of the first cities in the world to get widespread electric power,” he says. “Even before Toronto! At Enedym, we’re committed to bringing Hamilton back to being THE Electric City.”
While Hamilton is no longer the centre for Canadian innovation that it used to be, Dr. Emadi knows that it is primed for a resurgence. “We have advanced manufacturing here,” he points out. “Excellent infrastructure. Excellent education. Ontario produces more engineers per capita than California. There’s no reason why Ontario – and Hamilton – can’t be the future of innovation.”
Lower Costs, Higher Efficiency
A key aspect to Enedym’s motors is the software attached to them. “You need software to determine when to power the motor,” Dr. Emadi explains. “This is true for every electric motor, even ones with permanent magnets.”
Enedym’s advanced software – powered in part by innovative AI – makes their motors much more efficient than current motors. “Most electric motors in your household appliances are only about 60-70% efficient,” Dr. Emadi says. “Our motors are higher than 95% efficient. So, imagine the costs you can save in energy generation, and energy consumption, just by controlling your motor more effectively with software.”
Green from Top to Bottom
There’s another, environment-friendly benefit for avoiding the use of rare earth minerals, too. “The process of extracting rare earth minerals is not a clean one,” Dr. Emadi says. “We don’t have those issues, because our motors use electrical steel, aluminum, and copper, all of which can be recycled.”
