Ola Electric gets govt certification for in-house ferrite motor amid rare earth magnet crunch
The certification was granted by the Global Automotive Research Centre, Tamil Nadu, after the company’s ferrite motor underwent performance verification and mandatory motor power tests.
Electric vehicle manufacturer Ola Electric has received government certification for its ferrite motor.
The certification was granted by the Global Automotive Research Centre, Tamil Nadu, after the company’s ferrite motor underwent performance verification and mandatory motor power tests as per AIS 041 (Automotive Industry Standards) notified by the Ministry of Road Transport.
The Global Automotive Research Centre is one of the test centres established by the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Government of India, located at Oragadam near Chennai.
According to the company, the tests showed that Ola Electric’s in-house developed ferrite motor’s performance matched that of the motors with rare-earth permanent magnet motors in terms of net power for 7kW and 11 kW variants.
Earlier this year, at Ola Electric’s flagship event, Sankalp, the company said it had been developing an in-house ferrite magnet run motor which would eliminate the company’s reliance on China and other countries to source rare earth magnets—a running sore in the automotive industry in India currently.
Ferrite belongs to a family of magnetic ceramic materials containing iron oxide, which is more readily available than rare earth magnets—the supply of which is largely controlled by China. Earlier this year, the country imposed export restrictions on these components, leading to many automotive makers in India sounding alarm bells.
The government certification will now allow Ola Electric to begin integrating its ferrite motors across its product lineup. According to the firm, these motors will dramatically lower costs for the company and de-risk supply chain fluctuations.
In August, Aggarwal had said the ferrite motor products were expected to come out next quarter, and then over two to three quarters, all of the company’s vehicles would be equipped with ferrite motors.
Many Indian EV OEMs are coming out with alternative solutions amid the rare-earth magnet crisis. Last month, Ola Electric's peer Ather Energy said it has developed a heavy rare-earth free motor and has received type approval from testing agency ARAI and that it had begun receiving eligibility certificates under the PM E-DRIVE for these motors.
EV maker Simple Energy has also said that it has begun commercial production of its in-house developed heavy rare earth-free electric motors.
Edited by Swetha Kannan