Weighted Index of Recycling and Energy (WIRE) Cost for Motors in Electric Vehicles

With increasing demand of electric vehicles it is very important to recycle critical rare earth materials used in the permanent magnet motors such as Neodymium (Nd), Dysprosium (Dy) and Cobalt (Co) etc. To achieve easy recycling, focus of the motor design shall shift to design for recycling. The article presents a methodology (WIRE) to evaluate and benchmark the motor in terms of their recyclability. The method can be used to compare different motors. The method was used for evaluation of a commercial permanent magnet based HUB motor and the results are presented. A comparison between recyclability index of four different motors topology is also presented.