Permanent magnet synchronous machines provide some benefits with respect to wound-field solutions, including lower losses, greater simplicity and higher reliability. This makes them potentially interesting also for large power applications involving continuous operation and large costs in case of sudden failure, such as pumps and compressors for pipelines, which are usually fed directly from the mains for the same reasons. The analysis and design of large synchronous machines featuring both magnets and squirrel cage using both analytical and simulation models is presented, investigating steady-state conditions as well as start-up transients under different assumptions about the grid.