Tim Woolmer

A few weeks into his PhD, Tim had a eureka moment – realising there was a much better way to build an electric machine called a torus axial flux motor. The insight Tim had was that by removing the motor’s stator yoke and splitting it into segments, he would be able to open up some very significant reductions in the motor’s weight – while at the same time improving its torque, power density, efficiency and manufacturability, making it transformative within the then-nascent electrification industry.

On completing his PhD in 2009, Tim founded YASA to develop and commercialise his new approach to the axial flux motor. As CTO, Tim leads the development of YASA’s technology to exhibit best-in-class efficiency and power densities for automotive and aerospace electric powertrain applications. Tim has also led the development of a new class of motor controllers with novel cooling techniques. He has over 20 patent applications, with more than 50 patents granted to date in the area of drives and electrical machines. In addition, Tim has authored 4 papers related to the thermal and magnetic design of the YASA machine and presented YASA’s technology at technical conferences and industry symposia around the world.