The BMW Startup Garage is set to road-test a “revolutionary” electric motor from Munich-based DeepDrive. The concept features dual-rotor technology and is expected to enable super-efficient, powerful drives that offer a better EV (electric vehicle) range.

After a successful pilot project with promising test rig results, the BMW Group and DeepDrive are planning their first field test. Various versions of the drive will be installed into group models and road-tested.

In a conventional electric motor, the stator moves either an internal or external rotor. With DeepDrive’s dual-rotor concept, the stator drives both rotors simultaneously. In essence, DeepDrive’s innovative concept melds two electric motors into a single unit, creating an extremely compact drive that’s energy-efficient and has a high torque density.

The unit’s compact design and light weight allow for improved in-wheel drive systems with each wheel hub having an electric motor. The technology can also be used in a more traditional, centralized drive system for which a central motor block powers the vehicle.

The BMW Startup Garage operates as a venture client, implementing groundbreaking technologies developed by startups and enhancing the group’s capabilities in innovation, sustainability, and operational performance. Its venture client model was established in 2015, with the OEM acting as a customer and working closely with young companies to develop their technologies.

“The BMW Startup Garage is an excellent opportunity to connect with startups,” said Karol Virsik, Head of Research Vehicle Concepts and Technologies at the BMW Group. “We then carry on working with the best of them. Startups are really important to us because they think unconventionally and out of the box. They give us new perspectives.”

BMW says it was the first major manufacturer to discover DeepDrive and has been intensifying collaborations with the company since the IAA 2021. The OEM says the startup’s technology is already remarkably mature.

“DeepDrive’s prototype parts largely exceeded our specifications,” said Virsik. “That’s really unusual at such an early stage and with a completely new technology.”

The in-wheel motors will require less space and be more energy-efficient, lighter, and less costly, making them an attractive option for a range of vehicle models and potentially highly scalable.

“Collaborating with BMW gave us a springboard really early on,” said Felix Pörnbacher, Co-founder and Co-CEO of DeepDrive. “It helped us navigate the complex corporate world and meet and exceed the rigorous standards of the automotive industry. Our goal now is to get it integrated into a production model.”

DeepDrive, led by Pörnbacher and Stefan Ender, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, has gotten support from high-profile investors including BMW i Ventures, Continental‘s Corporate Venture Capital Unit, and UVC Partners. Additional investors include industry veteran Dr. Peter Mertens, former board member and CTO of Audi and Volvo, and top startup executive Jonas Rieke, COO of HR software company Personio. Other DeepDrive co-founders are Electrical Hardware System Engineer Maximilian Habersbrunner, Software System Engineer Christopher Römmelmayer, Chief Engineer Alexander Rosen, and Head of Production Dean Petrovski.

DeepDrive says it is currently working with eight of the top ten automakers on various development projects and collaborating with other manufacturers and major suppliers like Continental. It is on track to introduce its Dual Rotor e-motor in large-scale series production by 2026.

The startup says its patented Dual Rotor radial-flux machine is a technological leap that is ultra-energy-efficient, providing a 20% range increase and 30% less cost per N·m vs. other state-of-the-art units. It is low-cost and uses 50% less magnet material.

“After seeing the efficiency and the overall concept, we are convinced that DeepDrive will make a huge difference in the market penetration of e-mobility,” said Jürgen Bilo, Managing Director at Continental‘s Corporate Venture Capital Unit. “This technology combined with DeepDrive‘s excellent team convinced us to invest in the company.”

The technology combines an inner and outer rotor with two air gaps and benefits from the highest material utilization and lowest iron losses. Its revolutionary distributed winding concept, the key enabler for the Dual Rotor concept, in combination with an integrated SiC (silicon carbide) MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) inverter, enables drive units to deliver the highest system efficiencies of above 98%.

“The future of mobility is clearly electric,” said Andreas Unseld, General Partner at UVC Partners. “In recent years, we have seen strong acceptance of electric vehicles, but range and costs are still a challenge. Both are addressed by DeepDrive‘s innovative solution. DeepDrive is a very good example of how the startup ecosystem can develop and scale deep tech solutions together with established companies, which will keep Europe competitive and contribute to solving the climate crisis.”