Indian deeptech firm guns for rare earth-free EV motor tech

According to electric-vehicle (EV) research firm EV-Volumes, 4.3 million electric vehicles were sold in the first half of last year – a 62% jump from a year ago.

However, an India-based deeptech startup Chara pointed out that motor technologies used in today’s EVs were designed about a century ago, and that’s where the company saw an opportunity to make a simpler, smarter, more efficient, and easier-to-build vehicle for the long run.

Photo credit: Chara

A better and more independent motor

Chara has been building software and hardware that manufacturers can use to make switched reluctance motors – a type of electric motor with no magnets – and other rare earth-free motor technologies.

The blueprint would not only be useful for EVs but also for heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems, and home appliances, among others.

To further develop its tech, Chara has raised US$4.75 million in a pre-series A funding round led by Exfinity Ventures Partners. Kalaari Capital, Ciee.co, local battery firm Log9 Materials, and Big Capital – the venture arm of Vietnamese conglomerate Bitexco – also participated in the round.

“2023 is going to be a year of realizing our electric dreams,” the firm’s founder and CEO Bhaktha Keshavachar said.

So far, the firm has developed motors for two-, three-, and four-wheeler light commercial vehicles and other use cases that are expected to go into production later this year.

See also: Can Indonesia’s ESG startups benefit from G7’s $20b commitment?

Besides using drive control firmware as the brain of the motor controller, Chara’s products also don’t require magnets, whose production is heavily dependent on materials from China and other countries.

“We are attracted to Chara as it focuses on rare earth-free electric motors that are safer for the planet, more cost efficient, and offers better efficiency compared to the legacy solutions,” said Big Capital’s chief financial officer, Preetinder Singh Panjrath.

Keshavachar founded Chara along with Ravi Prasad Sharma and Mahalingam Koushik after securing a grant from Indian Institute of Science. Chara raised US$850,000 seed funding from Kalaari Capital and Ciee.co in 2021.