Victorian electric engine pioneer expands with new facility
Kite Magnetics, a Monash University spinout producing ultra-energy-efficient electric generators and engines, will set up a new advanced manufacturing facility in Melbourne's southeast. The state-of-the-art facility, announced on Friday, will allow the self-described B2B CleanTech startup to accelerate its development and production of light-weight motor technology. More than 650 jobs will be created in the process, Minister for Economic Growth and Jobs Danny Pearson said, including 140 highly-skilled jobs in material science and automation engineering.
Kite Magnetics will establish a new manufacturing facility in Victoria.
Image: LinkedIn/Richard Parsons
"Kite Magnetics is innovation at its best - they are producing a brand new technology that will shape the automative, transport and mining industries into the future, while backing quality jobs right here in Victoria," he said. The Victoria government is providing an undisclosed investment in the facility, having already contributed to Kite Magnetics' £1.85 million seed funding round in 2022 through Breakthrough Victoria. Founded in 2021, Kite Magnetics has developed patented technology that uses nanocrystalline magnetic materials to "reduce energy losses by up to 97 per cent", according to the company.
It allows electric vehicles to "travel further on a single charge, cutting down vehicle mass and overall cost" while also improving motor reliability and lifespan. 'Aeroperm', which was first co-developed by founder and chief executive Richard Parsons at Monash University from 2019, was patented in 2019, and the company was later spun out. Kite Magnetics' new manufacturing facility is expected to help increase its output of Aeroperm, with the company planning to produce 50,000 tons of Aeroperm each year by 2029.
The facility will also help accelerate the development of their electric aircraft engines, delivering for the burgeoning battery and hydrogen fuel cell electric powered aircraft sector.
Last year, electric plane startup Dovetail Electric Aviation opened its development centre, which will support research and development activity in the Latrobe Aerospace Technology Precinct.
"Aeroperm is accelerating electrification with smaller, lighter, and more efficient motors -- driving down EV costs and extending the range of electric aircraft," Mr Pearson said.
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