Modal Motors aims to build electric motors without rare-earth magnets

Modal Motors is developing electric motors that avoid rare-earth magnets, aiming to reduce dependence on China’s supply chain. Founder Michael Van Steenburg says domestic rare-earth magnet production is still years away and argues that many U.S. reshoring efforts continue to copy Chinese motor designs.

The startup is developing two products. One is a compact motor for drones that can also work in fans, blowers, and actuators. Modal Motors says the design is intended to minimize mass while maximizing torque density and efficiency. The other is the “Hybrid Enigma Drive,” a flat motor designed for lower-profile spaces.

Van Steenburg has spent the last decade developing electric motors in the United States and North America. He is presenting Modal Motors through Startup Battlefield 200, whose participants will compete at TechCrunch Disrupt next month.

His interest in separating U.S. manufacturing from China has a personal irony. In the late 1990s, he worked on a hybrid gas-electric drivetrain that China wanted for its so-called “People’s Car.” Van Steenburg also says he has watched China spend 25 years building control over mines, mineral rights, and the rare-earth supply chain.