New discovery suggest that permanent magnet motors might be possible

[telecom]

The patent which I've referenced earlier gives exact measurement data.
They indicate, that there was a net gain of the energy of approximately 20 %.
It also even provides some dimensions of the magnets and  an interesting design
of the set up of two magnets with springs.
The sprigs  work as an energy storage, allowing completing the cycle.

[lumen]

I used to think that power could be generated in a symmetric field like the homopolar generator is thought to operate, or how the homopolar motor is thought to operate, but in fact neither operates as thought.

Once you know how they actually operate, things become more understandable and there is new insight into how the field must be controlled in any attempt to build a magnet motor.

[telecom]

I used to think that power could be generated in a symmetric field like the homopolar generator is thought to operate, or how the homopolar motor is thought to operate, but in fact neither operates as thought.

Once you know how they actually operate, things become more understandable and there is new insight into how the field must be controlled in any attempt to build a magnet motor.

Can you shed some light on how they actually work?

[lumen]

Can you shed some light on how they actually work?

Yes, in fact you can also do some tests to prove it to yourself.
Look at a homopolar motor, like the ones on youtube using a battery and a magnet with a piece of wire.
The wire is not moving because it's in a uniform field but because it's trying to move to the edge of the entire magnet.

Proof #1: While keeping the battery polarity the same and holding the wire stationary while the device is lightly suspended you will see the magnet spins in the opposite direction of what the wire did. This shows that the magnet is simply the rest of the conductor that forms a loop.
So by attaching a very thin wire (thin magnet wire works well) to some heavier conductors and forming the same loop you will see the loop bend just like the conduction path of the homopolar motor.

Proof #2: Place a large ring magnet on a slippery surface and bring another thin magnet on edge close to one side of the ring magnet. The response is the ring magnet slides but has no tendency to rotate. This is because the only action is when the force works to push or pull the field from the magnet face and not along the uniform field.

Proof #3: When a magnet is spinning on it's axis there is no drag (work done) when a any object is brought near it like a copper plate or another magnet or coil.

The only thing that makes that homopolar motor run is the interaction of the separate conductors acting near the poles of a magnet and not any force generated or related to the uniform field of the magnet.

[F6FLT]

They analysed forces between permanent magnets but not the work. Only ∫F.dl is significant. As the magnetic flux is conservative (according to conventional Maxwell electromagnetism), work is conserved over a cycle. If they have a real experimental setup that works, it can't be explained by conventional Maxwell electromagnetism and therefore the explanation they give is not correct.
Same remark applies to US patent 2011/0198958: if a permanent magnet motor works, a new theory is needed, the old one being not relevant for explaining this fact, question of pure internal consistency of the conventional theory.
So we have to wait for the experimental evidence.