Jarek Rzepecki from Monumo: Motor Simulation and Optimization...For Now

Rare earth magnets, AI data center energy demand, and electrification are colliding in one place most people ignore: the electric motor. I sit down with Jarek Rzepecki from Monumo to get practical about what it takes to design motors and powertrains when costs, materials, and constraints can shift fast, and when “just optimize the motor” is never the whole story. We dig into why system-level optimization matters, how a change to one component can cascade through the entire design, and why engineers can’t realistically brute-force the search space as parameters multiply. Derek explains how physics-informed AI, machine learning, and simulation can work together to explore designs faster, including approaches that reduce reliance on rare earth magnets while keeping performance targets intact. We also break down the motor landscape in plain terms: permanent magnet motors, wound rotor designs, and magnet-free reluctance motors, plus the real-world problem of torque ripple and what it does to noise, vibration, and durability. Along the way, we connect the dots to robotics actuators, drones, generators, and the broader sustainability angle, because improving efficiency on the generation side and the consumption side can move the needle at global scale. If you like engineering software, multi-physics simulation, FEM, and the future of AI for engineering design, you’ll get a lot out of this interview.