Abstract: A valve for controlling fluid flow having a chamber of non magnetizable material having an inlet opening and at least one outlet opening, a magnetizable armature having a valve closure member, an electromagnetic drive for moving the closure member from one end to the other of a path defined by the chamber. A seating is provided at each end of the path within the chamber, each seating being complementary to the external surface of the closure member, so that the closure member is a snug fit in each seating. A permanent magnet and pole pieces create two opposite, spaced apart powerful magnetic fields in each of which the flux extends across the chamber perpendicular to the direction of movement of the closure member, and a solenoid surrounds the chamber, which when energized creates a second magnetic field, in which the flux is parallel to that of the permanent fields.