Project description
Data-driven design for sustainable multi-motor mobility
Electric mobility requires high-performance drivetrains resilient to supply risks for critical raw materials and aligned with sustainability goals. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the EMPOWER project will develop a design methodology for multi-motor systems that avoids the use of rare-earth materials, unifying motor selection, sizing and power distribution within a single framework. By using advanced, data-driven models rather than traditional lookup tables, the project aims to unlock the full efficiency of multi-motor systems. Key objectives include validating these models via a road demonstrator and extending the framework to light-rail transport. Ultimately, EMPOWER seeks to match performance benchmarks and provide open-source tools, helping European manufacturers reduce resource dependence and improve energy efficiency across the transport, robotics and industrial sectors.
Objective
Electric mobility needs high-performance drives that are resilient to critical-material supply risks and aligned with sustainability goals. Multi-motor drivetrains distribute power across two or more machines, keep operation in high-efficiency regions, and enable dependable operation. EMPOWER develops a design methodology for rare-earth-free multi-motor systems that unifies the selection of machine topology, sizing, and power-split within one optimisation framework. Two advances enable this approach: (1) a co-design method that pairs and sizes complementary motors with gearing and power-split control, and (2) fast, physics-informed, data-driven motor models that enable large-scale system optimisation. This replaces the practice, common in current studies, of using motor-efficiency look-up tables for preselected designs, which limits the potential of multi-motor systems. The fellowship will build and validate the models, optimise a dual-motor road demonstrator, and extend the framework to per-axle multi-motor for light-rail. The target is to match or surpass an optimised neodymium single-motor baseline on road and light-rail drive cycles, reaching the benchmark with a rare-earth-free design and thus promoting sustainability. The methods generalise beyond transport to industrial automation, robotics, and aviation - domains that demand high efficiency, redundancy, and safety. EMPOWER will release open-source tools and plain-language guidelines to ensure reproducibility and uptake. The fellowship is hosted at TU Graz and with a secondment at TU Darmstadt, combining supervision in electric drives and computational electromagnetics. Results will help reduce dependence on critical raw materials, improve energy efficiency, and lower the barrier for European SMEs and equipment manufacturers to adopt multi-motor designs, while the fellow develops advanced modelling and system-level design skills ready for independent research and knowledge transfer to industry and education.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
- engineering and technology environmental engineering ecosystem-based management climatic change mitigation
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics topology
- engineering and technology environmental engineering mining and mineral processing
- engineering and technology mechanical engineering mechatronics automation
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering robotics
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
8010 Graz
Austria
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.