Shifting From Rare Metals To Smart Motor Intelligence

Published April 2, 2026

When folks talk about electric vehicles (EVs) and the future of transportation, they usually obsess over the battery. But there is a revolution happening that has nothing to do with chemistry and everything to do with just plain old school physics! 

I am happy to report, smart people are still out there figuring stuff out. Specifically, engineers are rethinking the electric motor, using clever AI-enabled geometry and magnetic principles to make engines that are lighter, cheaper, and far more powerful!

These aren’t quiet revolutions happening in isolation. These bold new technologies are actively accelerated by policy, such as US and EU critical-minerals incentives, and massive software advances like model-predictive control algorithms that optimize magnetic flux in real-time. Saying the same thing another way… These new motors are getting built much faster, thanks to government rewards for using fewer rare metals, along with super-smart computer programs that perfectly adjust the magnets inside the motor while you drive. 

Advances in digital motor control, new composite materials, and wide-bandgap semiconductors finally make these century-old physics ideas practical at automotive volumes. But as we approach these new ideas, we get back to the rare earth problem. 

For years, the gold standard for EV motors has been the permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM). They are incredibly efficient and powerful, but they rely heavily on rare-earth metals like neodymium. These materials are expensive, environmentally damaging to mine, and subject to fragile, highly concentrated global supply chains. Surely you’ve heard this topic in the news attached to China’s name. And crucially, recycling rates for rare-earth magnets in motors are still extremely low (less than 5% globally), which dramatically amplifies the geopolitical risk. 

The solution? Engineers are figuring out ways to build better motors without them. To be clear, we’re going to cover three separate equally-engaging super smart physics-based solutions. Let’s go.

First – and the tech that actually prompted this article – is the “Pancake” approach. Take, for example, the traditional radial flux motor. It is shaped like a long cylinder, with magnetic fields running lengthwise. But a UK-based developer, now wholly owned by a major German automaker you know well, has embraced an “axial flux” design. Instead of a long cylinder, this motor is flat like a pancake. By orienting the magnetic fields parallel to the motor’s shaft, the magnetic force gets a longer lever to turn the rotor, creating massive amounts of torque.

Their latest prototype weighs just 28 lbs, delivers 750 kW peak (1,005 hp), and hits a staggering 59 kW/kg. That crushes old industry records. By swapping heavy iron for lightweight composite materials, they created a motor so small it can fit inside a wheel. Did you catch that? The motors are in the wheels. Normally, putting motors inside a car’s wheels makes them too heavy, ruining how the car steers and drives.

So, if that wasn’t cool enough, here’s some more smart physics coming our way. Let’s call this second solution set… Magnets Only When You Need Them. Another leading German automaker is taking a completely different route for its upcoming next-generation vehicles. Instead of permanent magnets, they use an electrically excited synchronous motor (EESM) which is basically where the rotor’s magnetic field is created on-demand via an electrical current. Then they pair that with asynchronous motors (ASMs) on the front axle for all-wheel drive. The brilliant part is the control: the strength of the magnetic field can be dynamically adjusted based on driving conditions.

The nifty thing is that motors for the front wheels can turn completely off when the car doesn’t need extra grip, letting the car glide smoothly without any magnets slowing it down. As a matter of fact, this is such a good idea that multiple different companies in Germany are building their own magnet-free motors, showing that this clever idea is catching on fast.

But let’s not think that the only place this technology is developing is in Germany. Nope. We even have some homegrown smart people in this same space, and they are “rethinking the flow.” 

What ties this entire group together is the shift from materials to intelligence. Rather than digging up increasingly rare and expensive metals to create stronger permanent magnetic fields, these technologies use clever geometry, precise digital switching, and real-time optimization to make the magnetic flow work smarter, not harder.

A Texas-based manufacturer is using a proprietary high-torque Transverse Flux topologies for industrial and EV applications, drastically simplifying motion systems by changing the physical 3D geometry. These changes affect how magnetic loops are formed so that the magnetic fields flow perpendicular (transversely) to the direction the motor is rotating. With this, motors gain a massive mechanical advantage. This also allows it to generate incredibly high torque for heavy lifting while easily dissipating heat. Cool in more than one way! 

Meanwhile, our Canadian friends to the north have a technology being perfected known as Switched Reluctance Motors (SRMs), entirely eliminating permanent magnets through scalable digital control strategies. And over in India, a mobility company has collaborated with a US-based magnetics innovator to combine variable flux architectures with “Clean Earth Magnets” made from abundant iron and nitrogen. And, of course, you can’t forget the Chinese. Major Chinese automakers are also rapidly iterating their own reluctance and axial designs for their next-generation platforms, making global competition fierce.

Individually, these each show great potential. But as you might suspect, aspects of these new approaches aren’t entirely mutually exclusive. Future designs will most likely hybridize them.

How does all this smart thinking change our future? By not needing hard-to-find rare metals from far away, growing countries can build their own motor parts and keep prices steady, making it much easier and more reliable for them to switch to electric power. Plus, it’s a win for established economies, too.

The real question is how quickly supply chains and factories can pivot to build them. While it’s hard to know how much is just hype, we shouldn’t be surprised to start seeing these solutions popping up more and more in TV ads… and then maybe in the cars zipping up and down I-35 and Hwy 6!

And beyond this, let’s see what’s next!

 

J Matt Wallace