WEG and SpinDrive entered a partnership to introduce advanced electric motor systems that operate without oil. Announced at Hannover Messe 2026, the collaboration brings together SpinDrive’s active magnetic bearing (AMB) technology with WEG’s motor portfolio.
This joint effort aims to deliver a new generation of electric drives designed for industrial environments where efficiency and reliability are critical. By removing the need for lubrication systems, these motors significantly reduce maintenance requirements while enabling continuous performance monitoring through embedded IoT capabilities.
The technology allows motors to run at higher speeds and achieve greater power density, resulting in more compact equipment with a smaller physical footprint — an advantage for modern facilities with space constraints. These systems are particularly suited for industries where contamination risks, harsh operating conditions or strict efficiency standards make traditional bearing systems less viable.
Other leading manufacturers of magnetic bearings include Waukesha Magnetic Bearings, SKF, Synchrony and Siemens.
The transition to oil-free and grease-free motor systems may present a future challenge for the grease industry, as AMBs partially remove the need for conventional lubrication and directly reduce demand in industrial motor applications. With systems requiring little to no maintenance, traditional lubrication replacement cycles decline, affecting aftermarket sales.
Although AMBs don’t require conventional lubrication themselves, a lubricant-free component does not equal a tribology-free system. Many AMB installations still rely on “traditionally lubricated” touchdown and auxiliary bearings, and generated power still needs to be transmitted to the driven components, which typically include conventional rolling/sliding bearings that require (optimized) lubrication, one industry insider told Lube Report.
“The limited dependance on lubricants for ABM-installations is not to be seen as a threat for lubricant manufacturers, but a conformation that the market is positively developing towards more sustainable lubricant solutions,” Dennis Eiijdenberg, technical manager at Interflon, told Lube Report. “Similarly, bearing manufacturers should not feel threatened by lubricant manufacturers that are working on pronging both lubricant as bearing life.”
They’re not without their drawbacks, however. Generally higher initial cost compared with traditional bearings and active bearings that require continuous power supply currently limit their universal application.