Modal Motors Developed Motors Without Rare Earth Magnets

The startup designed electric motors that eliminate reliance on global rare earth material supplies.

Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Electric Vehicles

A close-up photograph of a clean, industrial electric motor featuring intricate copper wiring and planar geometry on a steel work surface. — Modal Motors has developed a new line of electric motors that eliminate the need for rare earth magnets, offering a domestically sourced alternative for electric propulsion. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Modal Motors has developed a new line of electric motors that function without the use of rare earth magnets. This innovation aims to address supply chain vulnerabilities in the United States by bypassing dependence on China for critical materials.

Why it matters

Domestic manufacturing currently lacks a viable rare earth supply, making reliance on external sources a strategic risk. Modal Motors seeks to mitigate this dependency by creating efficient, magnet-free alternatives for various electric applications.

Modal Motors is developing the Hybrid Enigma Drive, a planar electric motor designed for low-profile applications like drones and fans. The startup focuses on designs that minimize mass while maintaining torque density.

The players

Modal Motors

This United States-based startup focuses on building electric motors that do not rely on rare earth magnets.

TechCrunch Disrupt

This event hosts the Startup Battlefield 200, a competition highlighting new companies in the technology sector.

The details

The startup uses planar motor geometry to enable high efficiency in compact, low-profile spaces. By removing rare earth magnets, the company creates a domestically sourced hardware path for small-scale electric propulsion.

In the 1990s, Van Steenburg worked on a hybrid gas-electric drivetrain.
The rare earth supply chain constraints began to develop around 2001.
Modal Motors will compete at the TechCrunch Disrupt event in October 2026.

Roadmap

This development represents a departure from traditional electric motor design, which has historically relied on permanent magnets made from rare earth elements. It aligns with a broader industry effort to decouple American manufacturing from foreign material dependencies.

For consumers and industrial buyers, this transition could eventually lower the cost and complexity of sourcing small-scale electric components. By reducing reliance on specialized minerals, products using these motors may face fewer supply-related price hikes.

The takeaway

Advancements in magnet-free motor technology could significantly reshape how American manufacturers build everything from consumer drones to industrial blowers. This shift highlights a growing necessity for companies to build resilience against international resource volatility.