Efficiency and regulations: PM-assisted synchronous reluctance motors as a sustainable industrial solution

A growing interest on the long-term sustainability of modern industry has been emerging in the last decades. In particular, a high consideration has steered towards electrical machines as one of the most critical components, due to their primary role in energy consumption. Consequently, local and international standards, setting Minimum Efficiency Performance Requirements (MEPS), today are pushing new products beyond actual efficiency levels. This trend, in turn, is leading manufacturers to investigate all technological strategies that can offer performant and environmental-safe solutions. The scope of this work is to provide an overview on the actual regulations and technologies available on the market for high-efficiency purposes. In particular, PM-assisted synchronous reluctance motors are proposed as a sustainable solution for either fixed or variable speed applications. Comparisons among technologies are presented, together with an environmental analysis of the impact that new technologies can have within the future industrial world.