DeepDrive raises $33.5 mln to scale up cheaper, efficient EV motors
By Nick Carey
LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) -German startup DeepDrive said on Thursday it had raised 30 million euros ($33.5 million) from investors to scale up and produce efficient, lower-cost "dual rotor" electric vehicle motors for major automakers.
The Series B fundraising round was led by tech venture capital fund Leitmotif and included fresh capital from existing investors including BMW i-Ventures and co-pace, the venture capital arms of BMW BMWG.DE and major auto supplier Continental CONG.DE respectively.
DeepDrive is working with eight of the world's top 10 automakers, with major contracts expected within the next year or two, CEO Felix Poernbacher told Reuters.
The company's motors should be used in mass production models around 2028, he added.
Conventional EV motors consist of a stator with a rotor turning on the inside. DeepDrive has developed a U-shaped "dual rotor" that turns on the inside and outside of the stator, making better use of the rotor's magnetic field, Poernbacher told Reuters.
DeepDrive's motor uses about half the magnets of a conventional motor, around 80% less iron, takes up half the space, and costs around 30% less to make, the company said.
The motor should provide 20% more range versus today's best available EV models, or allow automakers to shrink batteries to achieve the same range, Poernbacher said.
The battery is by far the most expensive component in an EV.
As EV sales have slowed, legacy automakers are under pressure to produce more affordable models with greater range to broaden their appeal and attract more buyers.
"Increasing range and getting costs down, this is really what automakers care about," Poernbacher said. "The key to that is efficiency in the electric motor because it achieves both."
($1 = 0.8956 euros)
Reporting by Nick Carey
Editing by Mark Potter
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
