Deregallera, a Welsh company founded in 2009, has caught the attention of Ford, securing £1.8 million in support for their electric vehicle project.

The Caerphilly-based R&D firm will lead a project that will utilize the talent at Meritor – a commercial brake manufacturer, and Cardiff University. The project will focus on the design, development and testing of a new low-carbon e-vehicle motor which requires fewer rare earth materials.

This reduction in rare earth materials will make the motors cheaper and minimize the environmental and climate impacts allowing a more resilient vehicle industry to form. Currently, the industry relies on China we’re nearly 85% of the world’s reserves of the special materials needed for permanent magnets are sourced. These permanent magnets have been crucial for achieving the needed performance in motors. In fact, of the various existing electric motors, permanent magnet motors offer the very best performance. Unfortunately, not only is it often a bad idea to rely on nearly a single source for such a crucial component, the raw metals are also being depleted. Deregallera’s design will remove this reliance on permanent magnet motors.

The funding comes in from the Ford Low Carbon Vehicle Transformation Fund which will open for a second round of application in August. Administered by the Welsh Government as part of Ford’s legacy in Wales, the Low Carbon Vehicle Transformation Fund was established to help address strategic technical challenges associated with low-carbon vehicles.

The project, which could have significant positive impacts on the environment, will help deliver the Welsh Government’s ambitious net zero commitments.

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