EMPOWER · Efficient Multi-Motor Powertrain Without Use of Rare Earth Resources

Electric mobility needs high-performance drives that are resilient to critical-material supply risks and aligned with sustainability goals. Multi-motor drivetrains distribute power across two or more machines, keep operation in high-efficiency regions, and enable dependable operation. EMPOWER develops a design methodology for rare-earth-free multi-motor systems that unifies the selection of machine topology, sizing, and power-split within one optimisation framework. Two advances enable this approach: (1) a co-design method that pairs and sizes complementary motors with gearing and power-split control, and (2) fast, physics-informed, data-driven motor models that enable large-scale system optimisation. This replaces the practice, common in current studies, of using motor-efficiency look-up tables for preselected designs, which limits the potential of multi-motor systems. The fellowship will build and validate the models, optimise a dual-motor road demonstrator, and extend the framework to per-axle multi-motor for light-rail. The target is to match or surpass an optimised neodymium single-motor baseline on road and light-rail drive cycles, reaching the benchmark with a rare-earth-free design and thus promoting sustainability. The methods generalise beyond transport to industrial automation, robotics, and aviation - domains that demand high efficiency, redundancy, and safety. EMPOWER will release open-source tools and plain-language guidelines to ensure reproducibility and uptake. The fellowship is hosted at TU Graz and with a secondment at TU Darmstadt, combining supervision in electric drives and computational electromagnetics. Results will help reduce dependence on critical raw materials, improve energy efficiency, and lower the barrier for European SMEs and equipment manufacturers to adopt multi-motor designs, while the fellow develops advanced modelling and system-level design skills ready for independent research and knowledge transfer to industry and education.