According to Hitachi, the 11kW motor has an efficiency of around 93 per cent while delivering IE4 performance: that’s the highest of the International Efficiency classes. This is despite being smaller than comparable conventional motors.
This 11kW double-rotor, axial-gap motor makes use of a laminated stator core that is based on a low-loss amorphous iron material. Its losses are said to be about 10 per cent of those from conventional electromagnetic steel laminations.
It makes use of amorphous metal, which has a disordered atomic structure and includes high tensile strength and low magnetic losses. It has been a target of interest for motor development for many years but has always been hampered by its costs – something that Hitachi is attempting to address.
The technology is being developed with the support of Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation.
