Can you please briefly introduce yourself and your company?
I am Dr James Widmer, founder and CEO of Advanced Electric Machines (AEM). AEM produces sustainable, magnet-free electric motors for commercial and heavy vehicles. By removing the need for permanent magnets in the motor, we have not only made it rare earth free and therefore more sustainable than conventional motors, it is also more efficient with greater performance capabilities than a permanent magnet motor. Our motor’s ability to freewheel and its inverter-agnostic design also makes it easy to integrate into a wide range of applications.
What does this year’s IAA TRANSPORTATION slogan “People and Goods On The Move” mean to you?
For us, the message resonates strongly as a call to move towards more sustainable transportation by driving forward technological advances. We believe that this year’s IAA TRANSPORTATION gives AEM, and the global automotive industry as a whole, an opportunity to demonstrate the future of transportation that is not just clean and sustainable but also efficient and high-performing.
What are your hopes for the IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024?
This is AEM’s first year exhibiting at IAA TRANSPORTATION, so it is a good opportunity to reconnect with many of our customers and stakeholders. As a relatively new entrant to the German market, this is also the perfect platform to introduce ourselves to the country’s transport engineering community as well as the media.
Which topic(s)/themes/products will you present at the IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024?
We are showing our full offering for commercial and heavy duty vehicles at IAA TRANSPORTATION 2024. This includes our heavy-duty HDSRM300 motor, which is typically used as a traction motor in heavy trucks, buses and off-highway applications. Visitors to our stand will be able to see this motor integrated into a full e-axle system, as well as a standalone unit. HDSRM300 is already in series production and has featured in several bus and truck projects globally.
We are also showing our smaller HDSRM150 motor in both air-cooled and water-cooled configurations. This motor is ideal for ancillary functions within a commercial vehicle, as well as aiding the hybridization of trailers. As well as featuring on our stand, HDSRM150 can also be found on the SAF Holland stand as part of its TRAKr trailer e-axle system.
Which essential future topic receives too little public attention in your opinion?
We believe it is crucial that, when discussing electrification and decarbonization, we do not lose sight of wider environmental objectives, such as water pollution and recyclability. This was a driving force in our development of rare earth-free electric motors and it remains an important element of our mission.
What we have shown is that it is possible to develop e-mobility solutions that not only achieve wider sustainability goals than just decarbonization, but that are better performing and more practicable for our customers than legacy technologies.
In which area of the transportation and logistics sector do you see the greatest potential and where do you see the greatest need to catch up?
The need to electrify in transportation and logistics both offers the greatest potential and highlights the area in which the sector needs to do most to catch up. There is an incredible need and opportunity for the transport and logistics sector to electrify and hybridise. There are clear challenges around this but we believe these challenges give greater opportunities to innovate new and pioneering solutions. SAF Holland’s TRAKr e-axle is a prime example of this – in vehicles that would currently be very challenging to electrify, this solution brings hybdridisation via the trailer, significantly reducing emissions and improving economy.
The IAA TRANSPORTATION is the leading global platform for commercial vehicles, transportation and logistics. It brings together innovators from all areas of mobility. Who do you want to network with in September and why?
IAA TRANSPORTATION truly is a global hub for the sector and so it will be a great opportunity for us to see many of our existing customers and stakeholders. We’re also keen to build relationships with more niche truck, bus and commercial vehicle producers and developers, as well as trailer builders and manufacturers of light and micro commercial vehicles. Overall, we’re looking forward to placing our motor technology on the global stage in this way.
The shift in the transport and logistics sector towards sustainable solutions is huge. What is your vision for the sector in 20 years' time?
Our vision for the future is decarbonization of transport in an environmentally responsible way, using technologies that are truly sustainable and high-performing.