The 2Zero VOLTCAR project is featured in the open access publication Transport Transitions: Advancing Sustainable and Inclusive Mobility – Volume 3: Eco-efficient Mobility Systems, part of the proceedings of the 10th Transport Research Arena (TRA 2024), held in Dublin, Ireland, from 15 to 18 April 2024.

This volume gathers contributions from across Europe addressing cutting-edge developments in transportation. It offers a comprehensive overview of the current transformation of transport and mobility systems, highlighting research findings, new methodologies, emerging technologies, and policy insights. The volume particularly focuses on the digital transition in transport and the drive toward more inclusive and sustainable mobility, bridging academic research, industry innovation, and regulatory approaches.

Within this context, the VOLTCAR project contributed the paper “Development of Next Generation Sustainable Electric Traction Motors” (pp. 233 – 239), which investigates new design solutions for electric motors using recyclable rare-earth permanent magnets (PMs). The aim is to develop technologies that allow the reuse of permanent magnets (PMs) without breaking them down into their elemental components, thereby improving sustainability in motor manufacturing. The paper explores motor design strategies that integrate metallic encapsulation of magnets to withstand disassembly forces, and presents first experimental results on materials and manufacturing via direct energy deposition techniques. The research supports the emergence of next-generation, compact and energy-efficient electric traction motors with reduced dependency on critical raw materials.

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