The New “Impossible” Engine

Scientific concepts, discoveries, and nature/technology phenomena

Electric motors & resource constraints (context)

• Electric vehicles rely on batteries and (permanent magnet) synchronous motors.
• These systems require materials (notably metals used in motor windings), which can face resource strain as EV adoption grows.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as “miracle materials”

Carbon nanotubes are highlighted as:

• Lighter and stronger than steel
• Electrical conductors (when the structure/purity is appropriate)
• Potential replacements for metals in some electrical components

Why copper is used in motors (and what limits it)

Motor windings typically use copper because it is:

• Highly conductive
• Relatively affordable

Key physics idea: metal conduction depends on electron behavior in energy bands, not merely the count of outer (valence) electrons. Conductors work because electrons can move between overlapping bands.

Key limitation: copper windings are heavy

• More mass makes them harder to move and can hurt efficiency and thermal management.
• Motor copper windings are described as roughly 10–18% of motor weight.

Alloying/alternative metals problem

Aluminum is considered as an alternative winding material:

• Lighter than copper
• Less conductive, meaning it may require more material/space

This is part of why higher-performance, lighter conductors like CNTs are so attractive.

CNTs vs copper: allotropes and the route from 2D to 3D

Carbon has multiple allotropes, and their structure affects conductivity:

• Diamond / coal: poor conductors (large energy gaps)
• Graphite: conductive in-plane (more “2D-like” electron behavior)
• Graphene: one atomic layer of graphite with very fast electron transport

Strategy to get 2D-like conductivity in 3D wiring:

• Roll graphene sheets into nanotubes
• The nanotube structure preserves high conductivity along the tube

Main hurdle: producing CNTs that are clean enough to conduct

To outperform copper, CNTs must be extremely pure.

• Even tiny impurities can disrupt electron transport because CNT conduction is sensitive at the atomic scale.

Korea’s “impossible engine”: metal-free (zero-metal) windings using CNTs

Researchers (Korea) are described as developing an electric motor using carbon nanotube windings with “zero metal windings.”

Core manufacturing/processing approach (as described):

• Wet spinning (CNT/polymer-fiber formation technique)
  • CNT-containing fibers are drawn through an acid bath to help align them
  • Fibers are then twisted like yarn and assembled into cable-like structures
  • The cables are wrapped in insulation and used as motor windings
• LAST (Lyotropic Liquid Crystal Assisted Surface Texturing)
  • A cleaning/processing step that modifies impurity chemistry so impurities form a removable surface film
  • Water strips away the impurity film, leaving CNTs in a more pristine state

Reported performance improvement (Korean team tests):

• Conductivity increases from 5.8 to 7.7 megasiemens per meter (~30% improvement)

Environmental note:

• Copper mining/usage is claimed to contribute about 0.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions (cited to the International Copper Association).
• Copper demand is expected to double over ~25 years.
• CNT production is argued to be potentially cleaner overall; some methods can be carbon-negative (via CO₂ capture utilization).

Remaining obstacles

• Cost
  • CNTs cited at about 20–80 cents per gram
  • Copper cited at <1 cent per gram
• Performance/yet-not-ready conductivity
  • Even after gains, CNT conductivity is still below copper (at the time described).
• Scaling
  • CNTs are not yet produced at the scale and cost of metal industries.

Additional benchmark from Spain (higher conductivity CNTs)

A Spain-based team (mentioned April 2026) produced CNTs with:

• 24.5 megasiemens per meter
• Claimed as ~3× higher than the Korean CNT conductivity and approaching ~half of copper

Their stabilization approach:

• Adding aluminum trichloride to CNTs
• Goal: improve/process stability for industrial manufacturing

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Methodology / process steps (as described)

• Wet spinning production

  1. Draw CNT fibers through an acid bath (alignment)
  2. Twist aligned fibers into yarn-like strands
  3. Wrap nine wires in an insulating film to form cables
  4. Use cables as motor windings

• LAST cleaning enhancement

  1. Apply LAST (lyotropic liquid crystal assisted surface texturing)
  2. Convert impurities into a surface film
  3. Use water to remove the impurity film
  4. Measure the resulting increased electrical conductivity

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Researchers / sources featured

• Korea: KIST (Korean Institute of Science and Technology) — team developing the CNT motor and LAST/wet-spinning approach
• Spain-based team — April 2026 CNT conductivity/stabilization work (institution not named)
• International Copper Association — source of the cited greenhouse gas contribution figure
• BigStackD Casting — referenced as a channel that disassembles/melts motors to show windings