High-Value High-Temperature Materials for Electrical Machines (HiVEM)

This project is concerned with developing the materials and associated manufacturing technology required to enable electrical machines, motors and generators to operate at temperatures some 200-300C higher than is currently possible. This will overcome an intrinsic limitation which has limited the environments in which it is possible to use electrical machines since their initial development more than 150 years ago. There are a number of important applications in which this is expected to be of real significance. For example, in the design of civil aircraft engines to enable them to be more fuel efficient - by integrating the electrical and turbine components; in the extraction of energy from geothermal sources where the underground temperature might be as high as 500C, and to allow the extraction of oil from low pressure reserves deep underground or from oil sands requiring the application of superheated steam to enable the oil to flow and be pumped to the surface - where we may require pumps to operate at temperatures of 350 C or more. Such materials may also allow us to design and operate more conventional motors at higher power without failure, enabling smaller and lighter motors to be incorporated into domestic appliances such as washing machines, reducing cost and with the resultant benefits to the environment.