{"id":3491867,"date":"2026-09-23T19:05:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T19:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/23\/modal-motors-is-aiming-to-completely-exclude-china-from-the-electric-motors-market\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T19:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T19:05:00","slug":"modal-motors-is-aiming-to-completely-exclude-china-from-the-electric-motors-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/23\/modal-motors-is-aiming-to-completely-exclude-china-from-the-electric-motors-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Modal Motors is aiming to completely exclude China from the electric motors market."},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
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Recently, it appears that everyone is discussing the idea of revitalizing manufacturing in the United States, particularly concerning advanced technologies such as drones and robotics. Michael Van Steenburg believes he is on the forefront of this movement.<\/p>\n

Van Steenburg has dedicated the previous ten years to producing a variety of electric motors in the U.S. and North America, and he now aims to repeat this with his new venture, Modal Motors. This time, he plans to eliminate rare-earth magnets altogether, seeking to further distance the U.S. from China\u2019s supply chain.<\/p>\n

As one of the participants in Startup Battlefield 200 who will present at TechCrunch Disrupt next month, he views this as a critical pitch to deliver.<\/p>\n

\u201cChina has already demonstrated its power a few times,\u201d Van Steenburg commented, alluding to the country’s limitations on access to rare-earth materials.<\/p>\n

Other firms are also making efforts to establish electric motor production and supply chains in the U.S., but Van Steenburg contends they are taking the wrong approach by continuing to depend on rare-earth magnets. He noted that domestic availability of these materials is still years away.<\/p>\n

\u201cOthers are \u2018reshoring,\u2019 [but] they\u2019re essentially replicating Chinese motors and simply manufacturing them in the U.S. They\u2019re banking on the U.S. rare-earth magnet system picking up speed quickly enough,\u201d he remarked. \u201cIt will still take a considerable amount of time before they can truly substitute for China.\u201d<\/p>\n

Modal Motors is developing two products in advance of Disrupt. The first is a compact electric motor designed for drones that is also suitable for fans, blowers, and even actuators. It\u2019s engineered to \u201creduce mass while maximizing torque density and efficiency,\u201d as stated on the startup\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

The more innovative design is what Modal dubs the \u201cHybrid Enigma Drive,\u201d a planar \u2014 or flat \u2014 electric motor that can fit in tighter spaces.<\/p>\n

Van Steenburg is leveraging decades of expertise in the automotive sector to create these motors and prepare them for customer use. However, there\u2019s also a twist in the work he\u2019s doing to make Modal Motors\u2019 products a viable China-free alternative; in the late 1990s, he was involved in a hybrid gas-electric drivetrain initiative that China aimed to incorporate into its so-called \u201cPeople\u2019s Car.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s somewhat amusing,\u201d he said, reflecting on that experience and the significant changes in the world since then. What remains constant, he remarked, is his outsider perspective and steadfast belief in tackling difficult challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI often remind people that the countdown began 25 years ago, and throughout that entire period, I\u2019ve observed a slow-motion disaster as China has traveled the globe, acquiring mines, securing mineral rights, engaging in various activities, and gradually monopolizing the entire rare-earth supply chain,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/div>\n
\n

Recently, it appears that everyone is discussing the idea of revitalizing manufacturing in the United States, particularly concerning advanced technologies such as drones and robotics. Michael Van Steenburg believes he is on the forefront of this movement.<\/p>\n

Van Steenburg has dedicated the previous ten years to producing a variety of electric motors in the U.S. and North America, and he now aims to repeat this with his new venture, Modal Motors. This time, he plans to eliminate rare-earth magnets altogether, seeking to further distance the U.S. from China\u2019s supply chain.<\/p>\n

As one of the participants in Startup Battlefield 200 who will present at TechCrunch Disrupt next month, he views this as a critical pitch to deliver.<\/p>\n

\u201cChina has already demonstrated its power a few times,\u201d Van Steenburg commented, alluding to the country’s limitations on access to rare-earth materials.<\/p>\n

Other firms are also making efforts to establish electric motor production and supply chains in the U.S., but Van Steenburg contends they are taking the wrong approach by continuing to depend on rare-earth magnets. He noted that domestic availability of these materials is still years away.<\/p>\n

\u201cOthers are \u2018reshoring,\u2019 [but] they\u2019re essentially replicating Chinese motors and simply manufacturing them in the U.S. They\u2019re banking on the U.S. rare-earth magnet system picking up speed quickly enough,\u201d he remarked. \u201cIt will still take a considerable amount of time before they can truly substitute for China.\u201d<\/p>\n

Modal Motors is developing two products in advance of Disrupt. The first is a compact electric motor designed for drones that is also suitable for fans, blowers, and even actuators. It\u2019s engineered to \u201creduce mass while maximizing torque density and efficiency,\u201d as stated on the startup\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

The more innovative design is what Modal dubs the \u201cHybrid Enigma Drive,\u201d a planar \u2014 or flat \u2014 electric motor that can fit in tighter spaces.<\/p>\n

Van Steenburg is leveraging decades of expertise in the automotive sector to create these motors and prepare them for customer use. However, there\u2019s also a twist in the work he\u2019s doing to make Modal Motors\u2019 products a viable China-free alternative; in the late 1990s, he was involved in a hybrid gas-electric drivetrain initiative that China aimed to incorporate into its so-called \u201cPeople\u2019s Car.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s somewhat amusing,\u201d he said, reflecting on that experience and the significant changes in the world since then. What remains constant, he remarked, is his outsider perspective and steadfast belief in tackling difficult challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cI often remind people that the countdown began 25 years ago, and throughout that entire period, I\u2019ve observed a slow-motion disaster as China has traveled the globe, acquiring mines, securing mineral rights, engaging in various activities, and gradually monopolizing the entire rare-earth supply chain,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3491868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3491867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491867"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3491867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3491868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3491867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3491867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3491867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}