November/December 2020

n NEWS November/December 2020 www.drivesncontrols.com 6 UK COMPANIES working on novel electric motor technologies are to receive millions of pounds of funding as part of a £92m government/industry scheme to accelerate decarbonisation of the automotive sector and to help achieve net-zero emissions. A total of 49 projects will receive investments, coordinated by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC). The funding has been allocated to two competitions, as well as the Automation Transformation Fund (ATF), which will provide £17m of investment for 31 feasibility studies into the future of green manufacturing and economic recovery for the UK. The money will support commercially-led r&d into manufacturing, and the scaling-up of products for future automotive supply chains. One of the competitions, called APC16, is providing £59m of funding – split between industry and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy – to back six projects projected to secure almost 3,000 jobs in the UK. One of the beneficiaries is Saietta , the Oxfordshire-based developer and manufacturer of axial-flux motors, which has won funding to fast- track the planning process to produce up to 150,000 motors per year, and the hiring of 250 skilled personnel. Saietta will work with the tooling specialist Brabdauer and the resin manufacturer AEV to refine component manufacturing and motor assembly for an automated production process. Saietta claims that its patent-protected modular motors will deliver “class-leading torque, power and efficiency, combined with a compact, lightweight structure and a design optimised for mass manufacture”. It adds that the project will deliver “significant increases in capacity and capability within the UK electric motors supply chain”, and will put the UK at the forefront of high- value axial-flux motor manufacturing. Another APC16 project – called Arrival – aims to develop a new manufacturing model for producing electric drives for vans, using Industry 4.0 technologies for vertical integration of modular robotic manufacturing, aimed at cutting capital costs while providing flexibility. The second competition, called the Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator (ARMD), is investing £16.5m in 12 projects, with participants including Ford , Lotus and Jaguar Land Rover . One of the ARMD projects is a “game-changing” manufacturing cell for permanent magnet motor stators, claimed to be “unrivalled” in its cost, flexibility, scalability and ease of adoption. The Aims (Artificial Intelligence in Stator Manufacturing Solutions) project involves the Somerset-based motor manufacturing specialist Electrified Automation , the AI-powered machine learning and automated decision-making developer Lightfoot , and Horizon Instruments , which will be responsible for building and delivering the cell. Together they are planning to offer “a world-first fully connected manufacturing and supply chain solution”. A second ARMD project will be led by the US- headquartered motor and generator designer ePropelled which has patented a “disruptive” electronic magnetic gearing (EMG) technology that enhances the performance of EV traction motors and batteries. Working with Embed and Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) , ePropelled – which has an innovation centre in Wales – is developing EMG technology to deliver “groundbreaking” efficiencies to vehicles. A third ARMD winner is a collaborative project, led by the Milton Keynes-based motor and power electronics module manufacturer Empel Systems , which is aiming to create families of efficient, power-dense electric motors and energy storage systems to accelerate progress to cost- effective electrified vehicles – especially those that operate with dynamic duty cycles and need high- power electrification. The project aims to save over 450,000 tonnes of CO 2 per year and to create more than 400 jobs. APC CEO Ian Constance, says the investment in the 49 projects “demonstrates the real and ongoing commitment of government and industry working together to advance the UK’s vibrant automotive technology development sector towards a net-zero future”. www.apc.co.uk UK motor developers benefit from £92m future vehicle programme p Mitsubishi Electric UK is setting up a network of Drive Solutions Centres (DSCs) to support higher- power LV and MV VSDs. Initial partners in the network include Total Automated Solutions in North Yorkshire, Lawrence Electrical Contractors in the East Midlands, and NewtonTesla in Cheshire. They will share knowledge, and offer system design and build, installation, commissioning, site support, and condition monitoring and predictive maintenance services. Dedicated project management and client communications are expected to improve turnaround times www.drivesolutionscentre.com p WEG has completed a multi- million Euro expansion of its Centre of Excellence for Drive Development at its Watt Drive geared motor subsidiary in Austria. The site now has more than 10,000m 2 of floor space, with 60%more space than before devoted to CNC production. A further six-figure investment is planned for the site’s machine pool before 2023. p ABB has moved its VSD customer services team from Aberdeen to its UK head office in Daresbury, Cheshire. The aim is to improve response times by shortening channels between the service personnel and ABB’s technical support and sales channel. The team can offer advice on VSD repairs, maintenance, spare parts sales and warranties, as well as providing product and application support. It can also help to coordinate VSD repairs at ABB’s UK workshop in Coalville, Leicestershire. Service enquiries should be directed to 01925 741300 or gb-mose-service@abb.com p Volkswagen has ordered more than 2,200 industrial robots from two suppliers, to be installed at plants in Germany and the US. Fanuc will supply more than 1,400 machines for VW production facilities at Chattanooga in the US and Emden in Germany, while ABB will provide a further 800 for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’factory in Hanover, which is being modernised to manufacture the ID.Buzz electric van, due to enter production in 2022. p UK-based VariohmHoldings has acquired the US magnetic sensor and encoder manufacturer, Phoenix America , for an undisclosed sum. The deal will give Phoenix a marketing platform in Europe, while Variohm’s five existing European-based group members – VariohmEuroSensor , HergaTechnology , I xthus Instrumentation , Heason Technology and Positek – will gain an American sales and support channel for their sensor, measurement and motion control products. Saietta claims that its axial-flux motor technology delivers “class-leading torque, power and efficiency” NEWS BRIEFS