Lappeenranta, Finland (April 18, 2023)Nikita Uzhegov, COO and co-founder of SpinDrive, was selected as an MIT Innovators Under 35 Europe 2023. 

The Innovators Under 35 is a peer-reviewed annual award and list published by MIT Technology Review magazine, naming the world’s top 35 innovators under the age of 35.  

The MIT editors pick the most promising 100 to move on to the semi-finalist round. Their work is then evaluated by a panel of judges with expertise in areas such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, software, energy, and materials. With the insight gained from these rankings, the editors pick the final list of 35.  

Nikita worked as a doctoral researcher in an internationally renowned high-speed electric motors group at LUT University, Finland on improving motor energy efficiency. Following his passion for making the results of research available to everyone, he co-founded SpinDrive to commercialize the patented and innovative Active Magnetic Bearings (AMBs).  

Magnetic bearings levitate the rotating parts of electric motors to increase efficiency. They work in a similar way to magnetic levitation trains. Nikita led SpinDrive efforts to attract over 4 M€ of private and public funding and bring several multibillion customers.  

SpinDrive’s mission is to democratize levitation to mitigate above 0.6 gt of CO2 emissions annually by 2050.  

Nikita is a US Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI) Fellow and received among other awards Jorma Luomi prize at International Conference on Electrical Machines. 

Nikita selected as MIT Innovator under 35 in Europe

 

 

Nikita Uzhegov 

Nikita is the COO and a co-founder of the Finnish cleantech startup SpinDrive. Nikita holds a doctoral degree in electrical engineering in the field of high-speed machinery. He is the US Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI) Fellow and received among other awards Jorma Luomi prize at International Conference on Electrical Machines. As the COO of SpinDrive, he is responsible for strategy implementation, business development, sales, and investor relations. 

 

About SpinDrive 

SpinDrive improves the energy efficiency of industrial processes by providing active magnetic bearings to equipment manufacturers. SpinDrive solution increases system efficiency by at least 15%, which enables a 2-year payback time. SpinDrive system is completely maintenance-free, which reduces the overall equipment maintenance costs by 80%. We eliminate the need for oil lubrication, which provides manufacturers with an opportunity to enter new markets. Our built-in sensors enable condition monitoring of the whole unit.   

For more information, please contact: 

Nikita Uzhegov, COO and Co-founder 

nikita.uzhegov@spindrive.fi 

+358 50 5188 569 

 

 

SpinDrive. April 18th, 2023