#59 – Max Liben | H3X – Integrated Motor Drives for Electric Aircraft

Max Liben is co-founder and CTO of H3X. Key topics in this conversation include: How electrified Regional Air Mobility (RAM) can have a huge impact on the mobility sector The need for drastically improved electric drives to enable widespread electric flight How H3X is reimaging electric drives from the ground-up Key levers H3X is pulling to radically exceed the state-of-the-art for electric drive performance and efficiency Lessons learned from Max’s experience with Y Combinator Links Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/maxliben Max’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-liben/ H3X website: https://www.h3x.tech/ NASA Regional Air Mobility (RAM) report: https://sacd.larc.nasa.gov/ram/ Max’s Bio: Max Liben received his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering and his M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. During his undergraduate studies, he co-founded the engineering student organization Wisconsin Racing Formula SAE Electric and went on to design high power density in-hub motors for their electric racecar. During his graduate studies, he was a Research Assistant to Prof. Daniel C. Ludois at the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC), with a research focus on permanent magnet ring machines with integrated propellers. After graduation, he worked at Tesla as a Powertrain Performance Modeling Engineer before co-founding H3X Technologies, where he is currently developing high-performance integrated motor drives for flight applications. About H3X: H3X makes high performance integrated motor drives for electric aircraft. They are small group of elite specialists that are laser-focused on developing advanced electric propulsion technology to enable sustainable aviation. The company was founded by former Tesla and SpaceX engineers who built electric racecars together in college.  Their Skunkworks-style operation allows them to iterate and innovate rapidly, and in an industry that is ripe for disruption, H3X is poised to emerge as a new leader. Future of Mobility: The Future of Mobility podcast is focused on the development and implementation of safe, sustainable, and equitable mobility solutions, with a spotlight on the people and technology advancing these fields. linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/ brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/ Music credit: Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License