Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share This Electric Car BREAKTHROUGH Could Change How We Make Motors!
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
This Electric Car BREAKTHROUGH Could Change How We Make Motors!
🚀 Carbon Nanotubes in EV Motors: The Future of Electric Vehicles?
There’s a game-changing material coming to EV motors—one that’s been around for decades but was impossible to use for windings… until now. Carbon nanotubes are here, and they might just replace copper forever!
🔍 Why are carbon nanotubes better than copper?
✅ More conductive
✅ Lighter & stronger
✅ Made from abundant carbon (not scarce copper)
✅ Higher efficiency & thermal performance
📢 Who made this breakthrough?A groundbreaking study from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) proves carbon nanotube windings could revolutionize EV motors—and Kate breaks the down how and this matters for the future of electric cars!
👉 See the full shownotes on our website: https://transportevolved.com
⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
03:00 - Background
04:00 - How Motors Work
09:12 - Why is copper a problem?
11:12 - So what did they do and why?
11:42 - Who are KIST?
12:24 - What impacts do impurities have on carbon nanotubes?
14:08 - How does Dr Dae Yoon's purification process work?
16:16 - How to carbon nanotubes compare to copper for conductivity?
19:59 - What about the weight impact?
22:14 - Carbon impacts and closing thoughts
23:07 - Thanks, and Goodbye!
🔗 Links:
https://www.kist.re.kr/eng/newscenter/latest-research-news.do?mode=view&articleNo=16356&article.offset=0&articleLimit=10 - KIST - Drive an Electric Motor Without Metal
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2009/nr/b9nr00071b - What amount of metallic impurities in carbon nanotubes is small enough not to dominate their redox properties?
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/9/3665 - Carbon Nanotubes as an Alternative to Copper Wires in Electrical Machines: A Review
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20170003881/downloads/20170003881.pdf - NASA/TM—2017-219480 1
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2016/an/c6an00248j - Magnetic impurities in single-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene: a review
🔗 Sponsors and How To Support Us:
👥 Today’s Sponsors
🌱 Electric Vehicle Association - https://www.myeva.org
⚡ EnergySage - https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-101290941-16952262
🎁 Win an EV with CCAN Action Fund! ➡️ https://bit.ly/transportevolvedEVraffle
Choose from:
• Rivian R1T / R1S
• Lucid Gravity / Air
• Porsche Macan EV / Taycan
🏅 2nd prize: Ioniq 5 or VW ID. Buzz
🥉 3rd prize: Chevy Equinox EV
🎟️ $200 ticket supports CCAN Action Fund nonprofit work
—
✊ Get Involved 🗳️ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
❤️ Support the Show
📰 https://www.transportevolved.com
🔥 https://www.patreon.com/transportevolved
☕ https://ko-fi.com/transportevolved
📺 https://www.youtube.com/transportevolved
👕 https://www.redbubble.com/people/TransportEVd/
🛍️ https://amzn.to/40xOyjm
₿ 1QRZRGCCXUKPDZ2DZ9KX9JYJXMZDYHYGFZ0MN4WH
💬 Join the Conversation
🐘 https://mastodon.transportevolved.com/@show
💬 https://discord.gg/9WAjfQn
🌀 https://bsky.app/profile/transportevolved.bsky.social
🔁 Subscribe to our 2nd channel - https://www.youtube.com/transportevolvedtake2
🎙️ Credits:
Host Kate Walton-Elliott
Reading: Erin Carlie
Script: Kate Walton-Elliott, Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Camera, Edit: Kate Walton-Elliott, Vi Horton
Color: Kate Walton-Elliott, Vi Horton
Art & Animation: Erin Carlie
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Music: via Artlist.io
© Transport Evolved LLC, 2025
💬 Are You Excited About A Metal-Free Motor Future?
Do you like the idea of using carbon nanotubes to make motors? Do you think it's commercially viable? Or do you think it's stuck in the lab?
Start the conversation in the down below, or come on over to our Discord (it's free!).
(Seriously, if you haven't tried our discord yet, please do. It's easier than you might think, and you can chat with other TE fans in a non-judgmental, troll-free space).
View all episodes
By 🚀 Carbon Nanotubes in EV Motors: The Future of Electric Vehicles?
There’s a game-changing material coming to EV motors—one that’s been around for decades but was impossible to use for windings… until now. Carbon nanotubes are here, and they might just replace copper forever!
🔍 Why are carbon nanotubes better than copper?
✅ More conductive
✅ Lighter & stronger
✅ Made from abundant carbon (not scarce copper)
✅ Higher efficiency & thermal performance
📢 Who made this breakthrough?A groundbreaking study from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) proves carbon nanotube windings could revolutionize EV motors—and Kate breaks the down how and this matters for the future of electric cars!
👉 See the full shownotes on our website: https://transportevolved.com
⏱️ Chapter Breakdown:
00:00 - Introduction
03:00 - Background
04:00 - How Motors Work
09:12 - Why is copper a problem?
11:12 - So what did they do and why?
11:42 - Who are KIST?
12:24 - What impacts do impurities have on carbon nanotubes?
14:08 - How does Dr Dae Yoon's purification process work?
16:16 - How to carbon nanotubes compare to copper for conductivity?
19:59 - What about the weight impact?
22:14 - Carbon impacts and closing thoughts
23:07 - Thanks, and Goodbye!
🔗 Links:
https://www.kist.re.kr/eng/newscenter/latest-research-news.do?mode=view&articleNo=16356&article.offset=0&articleLimit=10 - KIST - Drive an Electric Motor Without Metal
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2009/nr/b9nr00071b - What amount of metallic impurities in carbon nanotubes is small enough not to dominate their redox properties?
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/9/3665 - Carbon Nanotubes as an Alternative to Copper Wires in Electrical Machines: A Review
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20170003881/downloads/20170003881.pdf - NASA/TM—2017-219480 1
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2016/an/c6an00248j - Magnetic impurities in single-walled carbon nanotubes and graphene: a review
🔗 Sponsors and How To Support Us:
👥 Today’s Sponsors
🌱 Electric Vehicle Association - https://www.myeva.org
⚡ EnergySage - https://www.kqzyfj.com/click-101290941-16952262
🎁 Win an EV with CCAN Action Fund! ➡️ https://bit.ly/transportevolvedEVraffle
Choose from:
• Rivian R1T / R1S
• Lucid Gravity / Air
• Porsche Macan EV / Taycan
🏅 2nd prize: Ioniq 5 or VW ID. Buzz
🥉 3rd prize: Chevy Equinox EV
🎟️ $200 ticket supports CCAN Action Fund nonprofit work
—
✊ Get Involved 🗳️ https://indivisible.org/town-hall-resources
❤️ Support the Show
📰 https://www.transportevolved.com
🔥 https://www.patreon.com/transportevolved
☕ https://ko-fi.com/transportevolved
📺 https://www.youtube.com/transportevolved
👕 https://www.redbubble.com/people/TransportEVd/
🛍️ https://amzn.to/40xOyjm
₿ 1QRZRGCCXUKPDZ2DZ9KX9JYJXMZDYHYGFZ0MN4WH
💬 Join the Conversation
🐘 https://mastodon.transportevolved.com/@show
💬 https://discord.gg/9WAjfQn
🌀 https://bsky.app/profile/transportevolved.bsky.social
🔁 Subscribe to our 2nd channel - https://www.youtube.com/transportevolvedtake2
🎙️ Credits:
Host Kate Walton-Elliott
Reading: Erin Carlie
Script: Kate Walton-Elliott, Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Camera, Edit: Kate Walton-Elliott, Vi Horton
Color: Kate Walton-Elliott, Vi Horton
Art & Animation: Erin Carlie
Producer: Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield
Music: via Artlist.io
© Transport Evolved LLC, 2025
💬 Are You Excited About A Metal-Free Motor Future?
Do you like the idea of using carbon nanotubes to make motors? Do you think it's commercially viable? Or do you think it's stuck in the lab?
Start the conversation in the down below, or come on over to our Discord (it's free!).
(Seriously, if you haven't tried our discord yet, please do. It's easier than you might think, and you can chat with other TE fans in a non-judgmental, troll-free space).