Electric Motor Design for Circular Economy

Authors

S. Mafrici, C. M. Meano, V. Madonna, F. Magni, Dumarey Automotive Italia SpA, Torino; A. Tenconi, Department of Energy “Galileo Ferraris”, Politecnico di Torino

Year

2025

Print Info

Production/Publication ÖVK

Summary

The goal of this research is to design electric motors for Circular Economy. In this paper, the authors describe their adopted process, covering the steps from the exploration of relevant circular strategies and enabling design features to their evaluation, providing a set of business models applicable to an electric motor, designed for an automotive application. Starting with an electric motor topology without permanent magnets, specifically a Switched Reluctance Motor, which is inherently oriented towards economic and environmental sustainability, the authors optimized the design to further enhance the sustainability. Another key aspect of moving towards Circular Economy, is the necessity of new tools and methods for the assessment of the aforementioned strategies, to provide a holistic evaluation, that considers environmental, economic and performance criteria. This paper describes the design features that allow the complete motor disassembly, the circular loops opportunities through which the product could be reintroduced into its life cycle and the evaluation based on a cradle-to-grave Life Cycle Assessment, a modified Material Circularity Indicator and a Cost Model. This research shows that an industrial product, properly designed for Circular Economy, can achieve improvements in environmental sustainability, without penalizing performances and still be cost effective.

ISBN

978-3-9504969-4-9

DOI

https://doi.org/10.62626/61u7-sqmf Copy link

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