Posted on 06/27/2024 11:36:00 AM PDT by Red Badger
Chinese battery giant CATL says it's successfully flown a 4-ton plane using its ultra-high density "condensed batteries." It now expects to have an 8-ton electric aircraft with a range of 2,000 to 3,000 km (1,240-1,865 miles) operating in 3-4 years.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited (CATL) is the current world leader in manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles, owning 37% of the entire market share. Nearly every major car manufacturer, from Ford to Tesla, is using CATL batteries.
In April of 2023, CATL announced its "condensed battery" packing over twice the energy density of nearly anything else on the market at an incredible 500 Wh/kg. For reference, a typical lead acid car battery can have upwards of 50 Wh/kg, while lithium-ion EV batteries like those in the Tesla Model 3 can pack up to around 265 Wh/kg.
The company says the condensed battery was designed with safety and weight in mind – specifically to be aviation-grade, with the expectation of being used to boost the range of clean aircraft.
Three months after that announcement, CATL established an aviation division, partnering with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) – a Chinese state-owned aviation company.
(Excerpt) Read more at newatlas.com ...
Electric Aviation Ping!..................
I’ll bet they can get Boeing to build it.
LOL
CATL is making the new EV battery cells and modules that are being sold as DIY replacements in Leaf battery pack rebuilds. Smaller, cheaper than what Nissan wants and higher energy density.
The concept is intriguing but very scary. Personally would not set foot in such an aircraft until they were in common use for at least five years.
8 tons???
China has its own budding commercial airliner industry. They don’t need Boeing..............
Perhaps they can revive the Comet or Meteor namesake.
The Embraer Phenom 300, which has an Maximum Take Off Weight of around 17,968 pounds.
Real aircraft suck down JP4.
Aliens from far away galaxies will be able to see the battery fires.
From “successfully flown” with no range listed, to 2,000-3,000 in 3-4 years? Sounds like vaporware to me.
CATL are working on solid-state aluminum metal cells that have a max theoretical energy density higher than JP4 per kg. Practically aluminum is 3 times lithium so 1500wh/kg this is due to aluminum being a 3+ valence electron ion vs lithium of 1+, calcium,magnesium both are 2+ and ion cells using Ca2+ or Mg2+ are also in the works. The secret sauce is the nanoglass solid electrolyte and ceramic cathodes. All of the cells are metal anodes with store bought aluminum foil already showing 600+wh/kg in test cells. It’s when not if at this point.
Forget EVs if that gets one all run-up into a tissy the world functions daily on on high density power cells. Smartphones ,tablets, laptops, and modern medical devices simply cannot exist without 200+wh/kg power cells. It is for that reason alone third generation metal solid state cell tech will be commercialized.
Emotos,Ebikes,Escooters(stand-up&sit down),and ethree wheelers also alone mean advanced cells get made. Car sized vehicles and ultimately drones, air taxis and commuter sized aircraft is all secondary and spin off markets. The primary use will be personal electronics that hold 3 times the charge, charge in seconds and last 10000 to 50000 cycles.
“Aliens from far away galaxies will be able to see the battery fires.”
Solid state cells cannot burn they gave glass and ceramic electrolytes and metal foils don’t burn well either. Does the aluminum foil in you cabinetry suddenly burst into flames? CATL has aluminum prototypes that use store bought aluminum foil as the anodes they are not capable of thermal runaway nor is there a gram of flammable liquid in the whole cell. It’s exciting tech for personal electronics and handheld tools. I just replaced my self propelled mower, blower,chainsaw,weedwhacker and hedgetrimmer with 40V high-end electrics. Never going back to petrol fumes or mixing sticky two cycle oils. That era is in the dust bin of history. 45+ min run time on every tool so far. I have four power modules and they take 30 min on the fast charger to charge a module with two charges and two in use I could go all day not needed. Only the mower can use two at once but will run on one for 30 min or two for 50. Looking forward to the day when those numbers triple for the same size packs with charge times of 5 min or less. The limit will be what can a 15amp 120V plug put out not what the battery can take in amps of charge at 40V. Good times ahead.
The next generation of FLAMING INTO THE GROUND
We are inundated with "battery breakthrough" new tech which never seems to make it to market. Energy density greater than JP4 is a very difficult technical achievement. It will be wonderful if it can be brought to fruition. All sorts of interesting applications await.
If it is cheap enough to produce, it could make solar and wind power actually usable for significant energy applications on the grid.
If you are correct, lithium will become near worthless when these lithium free batteries become widely available.
What is the range and useful payload at gross weight? Batteries are heavy. Every component of an aircraft is designed to be minimal weight but still do the job. If I were in a crash it would be a hard choice between Jet-A fuel which burns grandly but can be put out by ground crews or sitting on top of the same amount of energy in batteries that the ground crews can not suppress. Hard choices on safety and hard choices on economics. When one takes off from China and flys to the USA with the same payload as 787 dream-liner at the same cost I will think about it.
Why when we have Jet Fuel or whatever the planes run on now ,LOL
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