Melbourne-based aerospace start-up Kite Magnetics has today launched the world's most powerful air-cooled electric motor for electric aircraft.

The company unveiled the 120 kW electric motor for the Avalon Air show where sustainability will take centre stage.

The lightweight electric motor is more powerful than a typical small car but only weighs as much as a full suitcase thanks to the use of their unique new magnetic material called Aeroperm™.

The company was spun out of Monash University five months ago and has already raised $1.85m in venture capital with investors including Investible and Breakthrough Victoria.

The small team of engineers has developed an electric motor that will enable a new generation of all-electric aircraft to stay in the air for longer and that has the potential to significantly reduce global carbon emissions.

The annual worldwide impact of aviation on climate change is currently greater than three times the total yearly emissions produced by Australia.

Electric aircraft are increasingly seen as a viable emission-free alternative for short flights, especially for underserved regional communities.

Despite this, today's electric aircraft do not have the range needed for widespread adoption.

This is an area where Kite Magnetics believes their lightweight, high-efficiency electric motors will be able to help the most.

"We are excited to launch not only the world's most powerful air-cooled electric motor for electric aircraft but also the first commercially available electric motor that uses this new type of magnetic material,” said the founder and CEO, Dr Richard Parsons.

“With our Aeroperm magnetic materials technology, we can reduce the energy wasted in parts of an electric motor by more than ten times. This means we can use air cooling even at very high power levels. This makes our motors simpler, more reliable and extremely lightweight”.

Kite Magnetics is now accepting orders for its new motors and expects to begin shipping to existing customers over the coming year.

“I am extremely proud of what our small team of young engineers has been able to pull together in a short space of time,” said Dr Parsons.

“It's a real testament to the quality of engineering talent here in Melbourne and shows that we have what it takes to build a world-class electric propulsion OEM right here in Australia”.

With their innovative new motor, Kite Magnetics is poised to lead the way in the exciting and rapidly growing field of electric aviation.