A Profusion of Names Evolito is the new name for YASA motors that fly. YASA (Yokeless and Segmented Armature) motors are a product of Oxford University research, and have become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes is now creating and marketing a line of electric vehicles using the YASA motors. But what of aeronautical applications? With that in mind, Mercedes spun out Evolito, taking YASA skyward with “high-power density, light-weight electric motors and controllers for aerospace applications.” Evolito’s Managing Director, Gareth Morris, explains, “We’re building the future of electric flight with motors that have the highest power and torque densities in class with the ability to manufacture at scale, whilst achieving efficiencies of over 98%.” Although their web site claims the YASA configuration is a “revolutionary new approach” to motor design, it’s a careful revamping of the axial flux technology invented almost 40 years ago by Cedric Lynch, a self-taught English inventor. Evolito’s axial-flux motors contain significant improvements. Two motors …
