The German company ZF has recently presented I2SM, a magnet-free electric motor that, according to what stated by the company, assures the same performances as PSM motors. Everything, however, taking up less space and without using magnets, therefore without using rare earths. The credit goes to a particular design, where the energy transmission occurs via an inductive exciter inside the rotor shaft. A solution that not only avoids the use of magnets, but also the use of a large number of components seen on the first prototypes of magnet-free motors. The company has explained that, due to the use of the new ZF motor, the energy losses caused by the transmission might decrease by over 15%. Reduction by 50%, instead, for what concerns the carbon footprint that estimates the greenhouse gas emissions connected with the manufacturing of a product. The primary goal is making I2SM usable with both the current 400-V platforms and with the future 800-V platforms.
