Bengaluru Startup Vimag Labs Unveils Rare-Earth-Free EV Motor Technology, Targets Commercial Rollout by Year-End

Vimag Labs Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Manish Seth detailed the company's patented "Virtual Magnet" technology, explained its operating mechanism, outlined its commercialization roadmap, and asserted that the company's motors can deliver equal or better performance than traditional permanent magnet motors without using any rare-earth materials.

According to Mr. Seth, Vimag Labs has already developed physical products that are undergoing testing and are being prepared for deployment. The company has invented what it calls the "Virtual Magnet," a proprietary technology that combines wireless power transfer with advanced software algorithms to generate electric fields inside the motor that function like permanent magnets. This approach enables the construction of electric motors using only copper and steel, completely eliminating the need for rare-earth materials.

Explaining the significance of the innovation, Mr. Seth said that the most efficient electric vehicle motors currently rely on permanent magnets manufactured using rare-earth materials. He noted that approximately 90 to 95 percent of the world's rare-earth minerals are processed and controlled by China. Because the refining process is highly toxic, many countries chose not to develop domestic processing capabilities, allowing China to invest heavily over the years and establish a dominant position in the global supply chain.

Addressing concerns over performance, Mr. Seth said the company made a conscious decision from the outset not to compromise on driving range, acceleration, or motor weight. He stated that both internal evaluations and customer trials have demonstrated that Vimag Labs' motors perform better than conventional permanent magnet motors. He explained that the technological complexity has been shifted away from hardware and into software and power electronics, allowing the company to continuously improve motor performance through technological advancements.

On pricing, Mr. Seth said the company is focused on three core principles: performance, quality, and cost. He emphasized that Vimag Labs' motors will be competitively priced alongside conventional permanent magnet motors. By eliminating the use of rare-earth materials, the company also avoids the price volatility associated with those minerals. He added that customers will not be required to pay any premium for adopting environmentally sustainable technology.

Mr. Seth revealed that the company's motors are already installed in test vehicles and are currently undergoing regulatory approvals and certification processes. He said Vimag Labs plans to roll out pilot production of approximately 1,000 to 10,000 units by the end of this year, followed by mass production next year. The company intends to initially serve the two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments before expanding into passenger cars, buses, and heavy-duty electric trucks.

Highlighting the technological distinction of the company's innovation, Mr. Seth said many alternative solutions depend on physical brushes, slip rings, or bulky wireless systems. In contrast, Vimag Labs has developed a fully integrated motor architecture that is compact and robust. The company has secured a patent for its core wireless power transfer technology and has filed six to seven additional patents, with several more currently in progress. Its proprietary software algorithms are being protected as trade secrets.

Discussing the company's business growth, Mr. Seth said Vimag Labs raised a Series A funding round worth 5 million US dollars in December last year. He stated that the company is transitioning from research and development into manufacturing and now considers itself a scale-up enterprise. Additional capital will be raised in the near future to support large-scale manufacturing operations.

Explaining why the company is headquartered in Bengaluru, Mr. Seth said the city offers an exceptional engineering talent pool, a well-established startup ecosystem, and access to early customers. While acknowledging the city's infrastructure challenges, he described Bengaluru as possessing a unique environment for building technology companies. Although Vimag Labs was founded in Bengaluru, he emphasized that the company's vision has always been global. It develops technology in India while operating integrated teams across Germany, Poland, and the United States to address what it considers a global supply chain challenge.

The company's claims come at a time when governments and manufacturers worldwide are seeking alternatives to rare-earth-dependent technologies to strengthen supply chain resilience. If Vimag Labs successfully completes regulatory approvals and scales commercial production as planned, its Virtual Magnet technology could represent a significant step toward reducing dependence on rare-earth materials in the global electric mobility sector.