U.K. Startup Opens Electric Motor Plant

Yasa Ltd. has opened a large-scale manufacturing plant for electric motors in Oxford, England, to meet growing demand for electrified vehicles.

The new facility will have capacity to make as many as 100,000 motors per year. About 80% of the output will be exported to customers outside the U.K.

Yasa also completed its latest funding round, in which the company raised £15 million ($21 million) to bring its total to date to £35 million ($49 million). The company plans to use the money to further invest in volume production for automotive customers and expand into aerospace and marine applications.

The company was founded in 2009 by Tim Woolmer, who patented the company’s Yasa (yokeless and segmented armature) axial-flux electric motor technology while he was pursuing a doctorate at Oxford University. The compact design is said to enable best-in-class power and torque as well as weight and design benefits.

Yasa says the design also uses less copper, iron and permanent magnetic materials than conventional motors, resulting in “significantly lower” cost.