Three Silicon 500 Kilowatt-hour-per-Kilogram Batteries

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Suddenly, three battery makers have announced silicon-based 500 kilowatt-hour batteries, a major leap forward for possible use in electric aircraft.  The three use varied techniques to achieve this significant energy increase. Amprius We covered Amprius’ new battery on March 28, noting its successful record-breaking flights in AALTO’s Zephyr HAPS (High Altitude Pseudo Satellite) aircraft.  This frail-looking but obviously over-achieving machine has loitered over the desert of New Mexico and beyond for over 64 days and nights, powered by a combination of sunlight and Amprius batteries. The batteries in particular just keep getting better.  That record was set with the last generation of Amprius cells, but future flights will benefit from the verified performance of their new 500 kilowatts per kilogram …

Diamond’s eDA40 and its Electric Ambitions

Dean Sigler Batteries, Diesel Powerplants, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Austria’s Diamond Aircraft launched its eDA40 last year, headed toward becoming “The first EASA/FAA (European Aviation Safety Agency/Federal Aviation Agency) Part 23 certified electric airplane with DC fast charging. Electric Power Systems’ DC fast charging system is capable of turning around a depleted aircraft in under 20 minutes.” Austria’s Diamond Aircraft has been developing environmentally responsible aircraft for the last several decades, starting with the hydrogen fuel cell-powered HK-36 in 2008.  Diamond promoted its work with Boeing Phantom Works as emitting nothing more than waste heat and water vapor, demonstrating “technology that may result in cleaner APU’s (auxiliary Power Units) for commercial aircraft of the future.” Diamond went beyond that over the next decade, using the HK-36 as a testbed …

A Documentary about an Historic Electric Flight

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Saturday, April 22, from 2:00 PDT to 3:00 PDT, you will be able to view the world premier of a documentary by Remy Oktay about his  historic electric flight in a Pipistrel in 2022.  This would involve a flyover at his alma mater’s homecoming football game, giving his classmates an opportunity to see an electric airplane in action for the first time. The film will be shown at an event in San Francisco, but if you’re not in the neighborhood, you can register here to see it on line.  The event’s announcement should help you find the venue. ​”If this event has reached capacity or you would like to attend virtually, please register for the livestream here – https://lu.ma/7c8o06u9 ​”Silent Skies follows …

Heart Aerospace, BAE Collaborate on Batteries

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Hybrid Aircraft, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Heart Aerospace, a Swedish startup, has teamed with BAE Systems, a veteran British aerospace supplier, to help with powering its 30-seat, battery-powered airliner.  The four-motor craft will include a very large battery pack under the passenger compartment.  The need for safety should be obvious. Adding eleven seats to its original 19-seat platform, Heart also brings a turbo generator on board, enabling flights up to 400 kilometers (250 miles) with 30 passengers, or even 800 kilometers (500 miles) with 25.  These figures include normal airline range reserves. Partners include BAE Systems, Swedish aerospace group Saab, avionics supplier Garmin, and Aernnova, a Spanish airframe specialist. BAE’s UK-based group’s Controls and Avionics Solutions operation in upstate New York will oversee the batteries and …

Electric Pterodactyl is a Blast from the Past

Dean Sigler Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

Cory O’Neill recently test flew a special conversion of a classic ultralight, the Electric Pterodactyl Ascender.  Rising from the desert near Pahrump, Nevada, the light canard was propelled by an open-source power paraglider motor and battery pack – all neatly bundled in a back-pack-size unit. A True Cross-Country Trip An early flying wing version of what became the Pterodactyl, the Pfledge lacked a canard and relied on a combination of weight shift and aerodynamic controls.  Its designer, Jack McCornack and an early customer, Dave Froble, flew a pair of these craft from Monterrey, California to the 1979 Experimental Aircraft Association fly-in at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  According to Ultralight News.com, “They made a big stir in Oshkosh that year – it is …

Amprius Announces 500 Watt-Hour per Kilogram Cell

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Amprius has announced a 500 Watt-hour per kilogram cell, essentially doubling the energy density available up to now.  Remember, though, that cell-levels of energy drop as the cells are incorporated into modules and packs, carrying the burdens of containment packaging, bus bars, and battery management systems (BMS) that lower total output.  Pack levels will be lower. Slow Progress This comes as the culmination of at least 14 year’s work, starting with Yi Cui’s work at Stanford University.  Your editor first saw him at a 2009 CAFE Foundation symposium at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos, California.  He was a proponent of the 10X battery, which at that time would have meant 10 times the energy storage of then typical …

Nudging, Then Doubling an Electric Distance Record

Dean Sigler Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Hybrid Aircraft, Sky Taxis, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Suddenly, we’re seeing new electric aircraft nudging, then doubling an electric distance record.  First, Autoflight in China and then Beta in America achieve higher ranges than that previously achieved by Joby. Jules Verne Saw It Coming In two late 19th-century novels, Robur the Conqueror and Master of the World, Jules Verne chronicled the fictional adventurers of a mad inventor who thought he could dissuade world leaders from practicing war by bombing them from his Albatross flying warship.  A great deal like Captain Nemo of Nautilus fame, Robur uses violence to stop violence.  Both protagonists fail in their efforts. The Albatross, mistaken as its objectives were, is perhaps an inspiration for today’s eVTOLs, propellers spinning for lift and for forward motion.  …

Monash Makes Motors – and Fuel from Thin Air

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Powerplants, hydrogen, Hydrogen Fuel, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Monash University announced a new type of electric aircraft motor and the promise of a fuel that could power everything from your smart watch to your airplane in the future.  Both rely on unique ways of seeing the physical world around us. The Kite Magnetic Motor Charles Alcock, writing for FutureFlight.com, discusses Kite Magnetics’ 120 kilowatt (160 horsepower) electric propulsion unit (EPU) intended for a variety of light aircraft applications.  part of a program at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, the motor could find applications in “conventional fixed-wing aircraft, as well as eVTOL and eSTOL designs, high-altitude satellites, and wing-in-ground craft,” according to the University. At its core, the motor relies on the University’s patented Aeroperm™ magnetic material.  This lightweight …

Enovix BrakeFlow™ Stops Thermal Runaway

Dean Sigler Batteries, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Enovix battery architecture including its exclusive BrakeFlow™ system enables 100-percent silicon in their silicon/lithium electrodes and prevents battery fires.  Battery fires, particularly on or in an airplane, are potential disasters.  One such incident occurred recently on United Air Lines flight 2664 planned from San Diego International Airport to Newark New Jersey’s Liberty International Airport. Things went awry when a battery pack in the passenger compartment started to smoke and caught fire.  Seven passengers were injured, four of whom were hospitalized.  The Boeing 737 Max 8 was just starting its flight, turned around, and landed back at San Diego after only 10 minutes in the air.  Taxi times were greater than the flight time.  It was probably more than a bit …

NUNCATS’ Electric Zenith Flies

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

NUNCATS: No Unnecessary Novelty Community Air Transport Services. A Mission NUNCATS, as your editor mused, is not a hip religious order, but a determined husband and wife team intent on doing good in the world with electric aeronautics.  They proclaim their mission as, “To provide a dependable lifeline for the world’s remote communities, to offer hands-on experience and STEM learning opportunities, and enable sports flyers to convert to cleaner, greener energy.” They add a practical approach to their mission.  “We deliver this by integrating the existing technologies of proven light aircraft, electric propulsion, and solar power generation, for maximum social and environmental impact. We are augmenting existing microgrid installations and providing the necessary infrastructure where needed.” Their All-electric Zenith “Sky …