Investigation of Electric Motors For All-Electric Aircraft with Different Material Combinations from an Environmental Perspective

Climate targets have caused a strong trend towards electrification of transportation, and also in aviation. The required electrical machines need large amounts of rare earth metals to achieve high power densities and efficiencies. The use of these materials is critical, especially in terms of environmental impact and sustainability. To gain an accurate insight, various electrical machines were sized and evaluated both electromagnetically and through a life cycle analysis. It was found that the use of rare earths is advantageous in the long term, as the electrical machine has a higher efficiency. In particular, the electric motor configuration with rare earth magnets in the form of Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB) magnets and cobalt iron sheets for the stator exhibited the lowest emissions over the course of aircraft's life cycle.