Nikita Uzhegov

As COO and co-founder of the Finnish cleantech startup SpinDrive, Nikita Uzhegov is passionate about making research results in energy efficiency accessible to wider society.

Using affordableactive magnetic bearings (AMBs), which he has co-invented and patented, SpinDrive is focusing on the commercialization of the frictionless and contaminant-free magnetic bearings for various applications. Magnetic bearings are levitating rotating parts of electric motors used in industrial turbomachines, which can be found in almost every factory worldwide.

About 46 per cent of the electricity globally is consumed by rotating electric motors. These motors are extremely inefficient, require extensive maintenance and are responsible for over 10% of CO2 emissions. Standard bearings in high-speed limit efficiency are responsible for 70% of failures and can cause oil contamination.

Uzhegov is commercializing his patents on novel affordable AMBs with IoT condition monitoring, which eliminate friction. AMBs increase electric motor-driven system efficiency by at least 10% and provide 20-year maintenance-free and oil-free operation.

He holds a doctoral degree in electrical engineering in the field of high-speed machinery. He is the US Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI) Fellow and has received other awards such as the Jorma Luomi prize at International Conference on Electrical Machines.