TECHNOLOGY n 21 www.drivesncontrols.com March 2025 EVOLITO, A UK DEVELOPER of axial-flux electric motors, is supplying motors to Flying Whales, a French aerospace start-up, to propel an airship capable of transporting loads of up to 60 tonnes. Evolito will provide 32 of its D250 propulsion motors for the 200m-long LCA60T airship, which is due to make its first test flight in 2027. Flying Whales is aiming to create a more efficient and environmentally sustainable form of transport, helping to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to promote greener logistics worldwide. It airships are aimed, in particular, at regions with limited infrastructure. Evolito claims that its motors deliver the highest power, torque and energy densities in their class, and are more robust than rival technologies. It adds that the 13kg motors, each capable of delivering 240kW of peak power, are the smallest and lightest in their class with power densities of 18.5kW/kg. “When designing an airship, weight is critical,” points out Flying Whales’ CEO, Vincent Guibout. “In the three years we have been working together, Evolito has demonstrated the ability to deliver bestin-class power density from its unique axial-flux electric motors, along with the ability to ramp production to meet our forecast requirements. “There is an excellent synergy between our teams – we share the same passion for enabling electric flight through engineering excellence and innovation,” he adds, “and I look forward to working with Evolito towards the first LCA60T flight, and beyond into production and commercial operation.” Oxford-based Evolito was spun out of the British axial-motor specialist Yasa when Mercedez-Benz acquired Yasa in 2022. Evolito is developing and commercialising axial-flux motors, control electronics and battery systems for aerospace applications. Axial-flux motors need up to 75% less iron, copper and permanent magnets than radial motor designs, making them lighter and more environmentally-friendly. “Flying Whales’ LCA60T airship is a truly inspirational aircraft, demonstrating that electric flight can help solve global challenges – from reducing harmful emissions to delivering critical infrastructure sustainably,” says Evolito’s co-founder and CEO, Dr Chris Harris. “Evolito’s unique axial-flux technology enables a new class of lightweight, compact and high-performance electric motor, opening up many new aircraft designs, mission profiles and use cases, setting new standards in electric propulsion for aerospace.” www.evolito.aero UK axial-flux motors will power French cargo-carrying airships THE GERMAN MACHINE vision specialist Chromasens has announced an industrial camera that merges linescan imaging technology with fast 3D stereo computation to tackle inspection and measuring challenges that arise when scanning large, complex or irregularly-shaped objects for flaws. The 3DPIXA pro dual camera boasts 29.7kHz line rate speeds, an optical resolution of 200μm/pixel, and a 1.4m field-of-view. It can simultaneously capture 2D colour images and height maps or 3D point clouds for “unmatched” quality inspection capabilities. The camera can also detect overlapped or nonaligned parts, displaying different colours on a depth map based on height differences. The IP50-protected camera is claimed to cut operational costs by improving efficiencies in product validation. For example, in automotive manufacturing, it can enhance surface inspection of large body panels for cosmetic flaws such as dents and wrinkles, or detect flaws such as irregularities on bearing surfaces, or the correct spacing and size of mounting holes on disk brake pads. This reduces scrap and cuts the cost of manual inspections, leading to faster ROIs. www.chromasens.com Linescan camera with 3D stereo inspects complex objects for defects Flying Whales’ airship will be propelled by 32 of Evolito’s axial-flux motors. Image: Business Wire
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