PHASE MOTION CONTROL: Precision Engineering from Genoa Driving Next-Generation Electric Systems
Backing its motor and power control systems with the latest research and technological advancements, Phase Motion Control has created a unique position in the European market where it is respected as a manufacturing leader and a knowledge partner. Founder, Marco Venturini says that this position is helping the company to grow into industries that will be critical in the future.
Supported by:
Phase Motion Control (Phase) has spent three decades cultivating a reputation for precision engineering, deep research capability and an almost stubborn commitment to solving problems that others in Europe have been slow to tackle. The company was founded in Genoa in 1994 by CEO Marco Venturini, whose own background shaped the organisation’s direction. “I founded the company in 1994, but I am originally a researcher. I am a nuclear engineer and I was working in energy control and power electronics,” he tells Energy Focus. That grounding in science is unmistakable in the way Phase has developed. “Most people now see us as a producer of motors, but we also produce drives and electronic controls,” he explains. “Today, the company sits between R&D and industrial production. We always want to be at the forefront of applied research in energy controls.”
The company has grown steadily through a model that gives it unusual flexibility. Home to around 170 employees, Phase operates with the mindset of an R&D organisation but with the practical output of a heavy industrial manufacturer. Its focus on motors, drives and power electronics allows it to address deeply technical applications where performance and reliability cannot be compromised. In high-precision sectors, this kind of integration is extremely rare; many European suppliers specialise in either electronics or motors, but not both.
Phase’s core markets reflect this. “Our key market is general automation, mostly machine tools, both cutting and bending,” Venturini says. It also supplies motors for flight simulation, lifting systems such as cable cars, and a wide spread of mobility solutions. “These areas cover around 70% of our market. The rest is in mobility – everything that is not cars. Naval, shipping, trucks, and electric aircraft.” With Europe as its main geography and growing traction in the USA, Phase has built a foundation that balances stability with strategic potential.
But Venturini is frank about challenges in the broader energy ecosystem. “The big problem in this industry when it comes to sustainability is that there was a lot of hype but all of a sudden it went out of fashion, which is most disturbing as climate change has not stopped,” he says. He points to the slowdown in certain hybrid shipping projects and the disappointment surrounding stalled transitions. For him, this hesitancy risks undermining Europe’s industrial momentum at a time when climate threats continue to harden. “People suggesting it doesn’t exist continue to cause real problems,” he says, noting that companies heavily invested in innovation have been left exposed as political interest softens.
EXPANDING REACH
A mixture of realism and ambition shapes Phase’s evolving portfolio. While its core business remains in automation and large-scale motion systems, the company has been making waves in marine propulsion. Electric and hybrid marine systems have grown increasingly important as global shipping navigates decarbonisation pressures. Phase has supplied high-torque, water-cooled motor systems for hybrid sailboats and commercial vessels, helping customers transition away from constant diesel operation toward cleaner, quieter alternatives.
These systems draw directly from Phase’s engineering culture. Unlike conventional marine solutions that rely heavily on gearboxes, Phase can deliver compact direct-drive motors built around permanent magnet technology, reducing maintenance and improving efficiency. An ability to create multi-metre-scale machines in-house sets them apart in a field where many suppliers must outsource or assemble components from scattered global partners.
The company’s portfolio also includes specialist motors for telescopes, energy generation and aviation test systems. These are not high-volume markets, but they do demand extremely precise engineering. In these applications, Phase’s “whole cycle” model becomes invaluable. As Venturini puts it: “We design and produce motors and generators from scratch. They are fully customised for various industrial applications. We also design and produce powerful electronics control systems to run those motors and generators.”
He adds: “We are both an R&D outfit and a factory. We are vertically integrated and we only buy in some selected materials.”
The company produces, on top of about 1000 motors/month in various smaller sizes, around 50 motors each year at the 2.5-metre scale, and the largest machine ever built inhouse was a staggering 18 metres in diameter. This places Phase in a very small group of companies globally capable of delivering such engineering at that size and precision.
STRATEGIC GROWTH
As Europe reevaluates its supply chains in light of geopolitical and industrial pressures, Phase is positioning itself to support nationally strategic programmes. Venturini is vocal about one area he believes Europe urgently needs to address: drone propulsion. “A real strategic problem for Europe is that the typical electric aircraft is drones,” he says. “We are fully capable of making electric motors for drones, and we have realised motors for large drones, but motors for smaller drones mainly come from China. That is strategically a big mistake.”
For him, dependence on Chinese-made drone motors is a vulnerability that Europe has yet to confront. While Phase already has the technical capability and has produced samples, scaling up production requires investment beyond what private industry can justify alone. “For large scale production, we need big investment,” Venturini says. “Because of its strategic nature, it is of national importance and therefore cannot be done by private investment alone. You cannot make money competing with Chinese companies – by definition it is extremely unlikely to be profitable, but it is strategically important, and that means talking at a higher level.”
This fits a pattern visible across Europe: as nations push for greater autonomy in batteries, semiconductors and green energy systems, motor production for drones and light aircraft could become a similarly strategic pillar. Venturini sees Phase as ready to support that shift, but clear government involvement will be needed to make it viable at scale.
As Phase looks forward, sustainability will continue to shape its agenda. Venturini emphasises a broader truth that rings through the company’s culture: “Democracies have the power to change governments but not the power to change realities. The real problem with reality now is that there will be real problems if we do not do something about the environment.” This mindset underpins the direction of Phase’s investment, particularly as it supports hybrid propulsion, electric aviation and advanced energy-control systems. The company’s belief is that engineering must lead where policy hesitates.
BROADER CAPABILITIES
Phase’s Genoa manufacturing complex reflects this belief in long-term sustainability and technical depth. The company designed its Blue Gate facility as a fully electric, near-self-sufficient site, powered by high-efficiency heat pumps and its own photovoltaic systems. Natural lighting, thermal insulation and even photocatalytic coatings contribute to reducing operational environmental impact. It is not merely a production plant; it serves as a demonstration of how industrial sites can integrate energy control technologies into their own footprint.
Inside the facility, Phase operates as a full-service engineering ecosystem. Its combination of motor design, magnetic engineering, power electronics, control algorithms and manufacturing capability gives it a uniquely comprehensive footprint. Few competitors in Europe can match this breadth. The ability to design a motor’s electromagnetic structure, build the stator and rotor, design and assemble the drive electronics, and test the integrated system all under one roof is genuinely rare.
This comprehensive suite extends across sectors. In automation, Phase supports machine-tool builders who rely on precise, high-reliability systems. In mobility, the company delivers high-density propulsion units for electric trucks, ships and aircraft. In renewable energy, its high-torque generators support emerging applications. The combination of torque, efficiency and tailored control systems aligns well with European decarbonisation needs, especially in sectors that have struggled to electrify effectively.
Phase’s growth narrative is therefore not just commercial, but strategic. It is driven by a conviction that Europe must develop and control advanced electric-propulsion technologies if it is to remain competitive and resilient in the decades to come. The company already has the R&D depth, the engineering systems and the industrial capability; its next chapter will depend on how Europe chooses to support industries that hold such strategic relevance.
In Venturini’s words, there is urgency: “There are many areas that continue to move slowly, such as hybrid shipping, but globally there is continued disappointment about the lack of success and the speed of change.” Phase is working to fill that gap by offering fully integrated, highly customised engineering solutions that support the transition to cleaner, smarter and more secure power systems.
With a range of different sized motor solutions, with in-house power-control electronics, and with strategic ambitions that extend into the future of European mobility, Phase Motion Control stands almost alone in its scope. Europe’s energy and transport transition needs exactly this kind of engineering backbone — and Phase appears determined to remain at the centre of it.