The Fraunhofer IFAM will receive more than two million euros in funding for the SIREN project (Sovereign and Versatile Infrastructure for Resource-Independent Electric Drives of the Next Generation) by the end of 2028. The funds will come from the Free State of Saxony and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The focus is on establishing a continuous, sintering-based additive process chain for developing and manufacturing electric drives. This will enable the combination of different metallic materials and the realisation of component geometries that are difficult or impossible to produce using conventional manufacturing methods.
One key area of focus is on so-called multimaterial laminations. These involve the targeted combination of soft-magnetic and non-magnetic materials. Based on this, the institute aims to develop, among other things, high-speed reluctance motors and ferrite-excited permanent magnet drives. Such motor concepts can operate without rare earth elements.
Another approach concerns electrical windings. Here, the Fraunhofer IFAM is investigating whether copper can be replaced by aluminium. By integrating special cooling channels, the properties of aluminium windings are to be improved, enabling high-performance electric drives.
Aluminium to replace copper in motor windings
The background to this work is Europe’s dependence on critical raw materials. The supply of rare earth elements, in particular, is heavily concentrated around a handful of supplier countries. Copper is also gaining strategic importance with the increasing electrification of mobility and industry.
This work complements other research approaches aimed at reducing these dependencies. In the NEO-CYCLE EU project, the Fraunhofer IKTS and TU Bergakademie Freiberg are developing a process to recover rare earth elements such as neodymium from decommissioned magnets. While NEO-CYCLE focuses on recycling, SIREN starts at the motor design stage, exploring drive concepts that can operate entirely without rare earth elements.
The new infrastructure is intended to cover the entire development chain, from material development and the manufacturing of complex components to functional demonstrators. According to the Fraunhofer IFAM, the planned combination of processes is unique in Europe in this form.
The focus is particularly on applications with high demands for power density and installation space. In addition to electric road vehicles, the institute also mentions aerial and underwater vehicles, as well as other industrial applications.
At the same time, the infrastructure is to be used for joint development projects with companies. A particular focus is on businesses from the drive technology, supplier industry, and sintering technology sectors. Small and medium-sized enterprises in Saxony are also to gain access to the new manufacturing processes.
