The research in my research group is focused on developing synchronous electric machines that have a low environmental footprint. This is achieved in several ways. Firstly, we increase energy efficiency and power density of axial and radial flux synchronous machines by making them multiphase, by changing ferromagnetic materials (e.g. grain-oriented steel), by improving cooling, …. A second way to obtain sustainability is to reduce the amount of polluting materials (e.g. NdFeB magnets), and to use production techniques with low material waste. Therefore, we study additive manufacturing for windings and ferromagnetic parts. A third important aspect for sustainability is lifetime: by studying reliability of electric drives, lifetime can be increased so that electric machines do not often need repair or replacement.

For this "basisfinanciering", the goal is to study the complete electric drive, which consists of the electric machine, the power electronic converter, and control algorithms. Collaboration with colleagues in the department will make this possible. Via this collaboration, improving sustainability can be extended from the electric machine to the complete electric drive.