Orbis Says HaloDrive Axial-Flux Motor Available for In-Wheel, Other Uses

Though sales growth of EVs has slowed down, the race to be part of the inevitable shift away from fossil fuels is still fierce. Orbis Electric hopes its new, thin HaloDrive can be part of that shift, from use as a traditional or in-wheel traction motor to generating electricity for refrigeration trucks.

August 5, 2025

Chris Clonts

A view of the key components of the Orbis HaloDrive, including a novel plastic stator. (Orbis Electric)

After years of development, Orbis Electric is introducing its HaloDrive axial flux e-motor /generator that it says is “slimmer, lighter, lower cost and more powerful than existing motors and generators.” Orbis also claims it does all that while matching the torque of a V-8 internal combustion engine.

Orbis‘ reported power numbers for HaloDrive generators. (Orbis Electric)

The company, based in Santa Rosa, California, introduced HaloDrive in a news release and online. Cited as top-line innovations: An injection-molded plastic stator and a tunable gearset. The company said that the unit has what it called greater thermal stability than other e-motors.

The motor can deliver 100Nm/kg of torque at up to 97% efficiency, and the company said it can be built for 35% less than radial flux motors.

Marcus Hays, founder and CTO of Orbis Electric, said the goal was to create and build a system that could meet current needs but also serve business needs and sustainability goals. “Our engineering team of EV, aerospace, fabrication and environmental experts have spent years developing this,” he said. The company is actively seeking Tier 1 supplier partners and is actively pitching OEMs, fleets and industrial clients. Orbis’ pitch to potential industrial customers emphasizes that old and ill-maintained industrial motors waste a tremendous amount of energy.

The HaloDrive can be deployed as an in-wheel motor or as part of a standard hybridized powertrain (P2 and P3, for example). The company also sees the unit as a replacement for a traditional diesel engine as a generator. In one test fleet deployment, HaloDrive improved fleet fuel efficiency by 61%,” the company said in a statement. When deployed within a wheel, Orbis said that range is improved by 20% thanks mostly to weight savings.

In some ways, the approach is similar to that taken by Texas-based Infinitum, except that company is focusing on industrial motors . Elaphe, a company that debuted an in-wheel motor at CES earlier this year, said its product was designed to fit in existing EV wheels.

One other potential deployment is in commercial trucking, where Orbis envisions its motors, branded as NetZero eTru, replacing diesel units for electric transport refrigeration units on trucks that carry perishables. When replacing such units, Orbis said, HaloDrive is 90% less expensive to operate and cuts diesel emissions by 100%. “Installed on a drive shaft or axle, the HaloDrive motor can convert a truck’s braking energy into electricity to power the mobile refrigeration,” the company’s statement said. Orbis CEO Chance Claxton said the company wants to speed the transition to electric transportation, even in the face of slower growth of the market. “[We are] removing electric motor barriers such as deployment costs, material and manufacturability risks,” he said.