Investment required:£5m

Automotive ‐ Engineering
A new generation of high power and high torque density electric motors, Torque densities of 30Nm/kg or high power densities up to 10kW/kg

Synopsis
The company is a thriving young company based in Oxford, specialising in very high power and torque density axial flux motors. Trading since 2009, The company have already secured its first development and production contracts with major Automotive OEM's. The longer term goal is to supply multiple Automotive OEM's, Industrial, Aerospace and Marine businesses with the highest performance, lowest weight and smallest package electric motors on earth. The YASA motor has a number of distinct advantages, including a very high specific torque (torque to weight ratio), a high efficiency (typically up to 95%) and the possibility for low cost manufacturing due to the very effective utilisation of the magnetic materials. The YASA motor has been developed since 2005, and the company's first product, the YASA‐750, has demonstrated the potential of the technology with a torque density of 30Nm/kg achieved (up to 40Nm/kg is possible). The motors have been installed in many different vehicle types with exceptional results for both track and road vehicles along with marine and industrial applications. The company is committed to making its products suitable for high volume automotive use, and as such the YASA‐750 has been put through a wide variety of automotive tests, including thermal endurance, salt spray and vibration tests equivalent to 150,000 miles. Further products are currently being developed with power densities of up to 10kW/kg being targeted.

Technology
The Yokeless And Segmented Armature topology is a new type of axial flux motor that shows a step change improvement in torque density when compared to other axial flux motors. The topology is based around a series of magnetically separated segments that form the stator of the machine. The step change in the specific torque of the motor (30‐40Nm/kg which is typically at least 2‐4 times better than the best alternatives) comes from the combination of patented improvements in the magnetics, the cooling and the packaging of the motor. The YASA‐750 has been developed specifically for electric and hybrid vehicles. This direct drive motor is compact (350mm in diameter and 70mm wide), and fit within the space of the front or rear differential of a typical vehicle (the differential is no longer required). The motors have had independent dynanometer testing and a peak torque of 750Nm (for 1 min) and a continuous torque of 400Nm. With a peak power of up to 100kW (at 400V), and a continuous power of >50kW 2 motor 'slices' are enough for most sports vehicles. An example application is the Westfield iRacer which uses two motors mounted at the rear of the vehicle and accelerates from 0‐60 in less than 5s. A number of customers are also using 4 motors to give racing performance with 400kW of traction available.