Orbis Electric Introduces Axial Flux Motor

Will axial flux motors soon become more affordable? Orbis Electric presents a modular, four-part drive system that is also suitable for commercial vehicles. 

The HaloDrive from the California-based manufacturer of high-performance electric motors is based on a modular four-part architecture. The compact axial flux motor is designed to fit inside a wheel. This reduces vehicle weight and increases range by up to 20 %. The motor is said to outperform conventional radial and axial flux designs with improved thermal stability and offer a torque density of 100 Nm/kg. The scalable architecture can also be used in hybrid vehicles and supports multiple drive positions (P2, P3, P4, P5). According to Orbis Electric, the efficiency is said to be 97 %. It can be used in passenger cars and commercial vehicles, as well as in stationary industrial power generation systems and in marine and aviation platforms.

According to Orbis Electric, the new drive has already been tested by car manufacturers for wheel hub drives and in heavy-duty truck fleets. There, HaloDrive can also be used as a generator for electric transport refrigeration units (eTRU) and replace diesel-powered generators. The HaloDrive motor is installed on the drive shaft or an axle and converts the truck's braking energy into electricity to operate mobile cooling systems independently of the power grid. This reduces operating costs and emissions. Until now, axial flux motors have mainly been found in expensive sports cars due to their high cost. According to Orbis Electric, the new drive is up to 35 % cheaper than conventional radial-flow motors.

This is a partly automated translation of this German article.