Researcher wins distinguished achievement award for vehicles’ “electrification-enabling” research 

While electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more common, additional research and development is needed to reduce their cost and increase their performance — which is essential for increased consumer adoption. In particular, improved materials for EV motor components and inductors are considered to be one viable pathway to help achieve the cost and performance targets established the Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office. Motor components and inductors frequently use expensive and rare earth metals. They must also strike a balance between having desirable properties — such as magnetic strength or physical strength — and ease of fabrication.

Sandia’s Todd Monson was recently recognized for his work which synthesized and characterized iron-nitride-based soft magnetic composites to meet DOE’s cost and power targets for electric vehicle drive trains. Todd’s research uses abundant earth metals — which addresses supply chain risks — and holds promise for successful large-scale manufacturing. For his efforts to develop improved, soft magnetic materials, Todd received a Distinguished Achievement award and public recognition for his innovations for inductors and motors during the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office Annual Merit Review in June.