Electric motors power industrial equipment and vehicles, but some high-performance designs depend on rare-earth permanent magnets. Bengaluru-based Chara Technologies is exploring a different path. Its founders, Bhaktha Keshavachar, Ravi Prasad and Mahalingam Koushik, brought business leadership, motor design and power-electronics experience to the same engineering problem.
Why synchronous reluctance motors matter
A synchronous reluctance motor creates rotation through differences in magnetic reluctance within its rotor, rather than relying on rare-earth permanent magnets. Chara combines this principle with specialised electronic controllers. The October issue describes potential uses in industrial machinery and electric mobility. The approach aims to reduce material dependence while meeting efficiency and reliability requirements that vary by application.
Each founder contributes a different part of the work. The profile describes Bhaktha's technology entrepreneurship, including earlier involvement with Ezetap; Ravi's decades of electric-motor design, including senior engineering work at Kirloskar Motors; and Koushik's IIT Madras education and focus on power electronics and motor control. Their combined expertise matters because a viable motor product requires mechanical design, controls and a route to manufacturing.
Turning an alternative design into a product
The magazine reports that Chara received recognition at the Marico Innovation Foundation's Indian Innovation Icons awards in 2025. For industrial customers, however, awards are only an introduction. Motors must perform reliably over time, fit different operating conditions and be produced with consistent quality. Chara's next challenge is to make its systems practical for manufacturers and mobility companies.
Reducing reliance on rare-earth magnets does not by itself settle every engineering trade-off. Customers will compare total system efficiency, controls, cost, maintenance and suitability for a specific duty cycle. Chara's combination of motor and controller development matters because those factors interact. The opportunity lies in delivering a dependable alternative for real machines, not merely demonstrating a different rotor design.
Chara's work illustrates the value of revisiting established engineering methods when supply constraints change. Explore the October 2026 magazine for the original company profile.