Stable Nickel-rich Cathodes in Lithium Metal Batteries

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A battery with 560 Watt-hours per kilogram, a stable long life, and no fires.  What’s not to like?  Researchers at Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU), founded by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in cooperation with the University of Ulm, have come up with a dual anion, nickel-rich cathode, lithium-metal battery that, although in early stages of development, may point a way forward. Academic journal Joule reports, “High-energy batteries, in particular lithium batteries, are the key to achieve carbon-neutral mobility…. However, it is foreseen that a fully electrified mobility and transportation can only be achieved by the development of batteries employing lithium metal as the negative electrode (anode) while still granting long-term cycling performance and safety.”  Safety may be the deciding factor here, especially in electric aircraft.   Coupling the lithium metal anode with a nickel rich cathode seems to pay off for the researchers.  Along with the dual anion liquid electrolytes, they’ve managed to keep things stable and performing well. Considering …

Pie Aeronefs UR-1: V-tailed, Battery-winged Racer

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Pie Aeronefs, a small team of dedicated builders in Switzerland is putting the finishing touches on the UR-1, a V-tailed, battery-winged electric racer expected to fly in next Air Race E series. “Marc Umbricht’s vision is to create a 4-seater general aviation electric aircraft that shall equal or surpass the performances of standard piston engine aeroplanes. This new generation aircraft will bring a viable and sustainable alternative on the general aviation market.” To achieve this ultimate goal, the Pie Aeronefs team has a series of iterative designs to explore, starting with a single-seat eRacer.  The small aircraft development firm in La Sarraz, Switzerland is on track to complete the airframe of its UR-1 Air Race E machine soon. 12 Battery Packs Innovative in the extreme, the small craft will store 12 in-series 10-kilogram (22-pound) battery packs in its wings.  Each 55-Volt pack stores 1.15 kilowatt hours of electricity. The 13-member team chose lithium-ion polymer cells for their battery packs because …

Embraer Electrifies Agricultural Aviation

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Embraer, a Brazilian aircraft maker with ties to Boeing, has been tilling the clean aviation field for several years.  Their current agricultural craft, the EMB 203, has flown on ethanol for some years – a kind of farm-to-aircraft symbiotic relationship.  Going to the next step toward clean, green aviation, Embraer has since devised an electrical powertrain in cooperation with WEG Equipamentos Elétricos and EDP. Embraer is deeply involved in programs headed toward making the skies greener.  This includes everything from their aircraft designs to their “DIPAS PROGRAM – DIPAS (Integrated Development of an Environmentally Sustainable Product).”  This program considers “current and future environmental legislation,” alternative technologies and their life cycles.  The program works toward reducing fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, noise, and maintenance costs, while, “Increasing operational efficiency and comfort for the pilot and passengers.” Other operations to incorporate electrification of flight include Embraer X’s Eve, the company’s approach to urban aerial mobility, and other efforts to offset or mitigate harmful …

A Pulitzer Written in the Sky

Dean Sigler Announcements, Batteries, Electric Powerplants, Fuel Cells, GFC, Hydrogen Fuel, Solar Power, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

Itching to test your electric airplane’s cross-country capabilities?  A new Pulitzer Electric Air Race of over 1,000 nautical miles (1,150.78 statute miles to be exact) between Nebraska and North Carolina will show who has the fastest electric flying machine. Jim Moore, reporting for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), shows the connection between the original Pulitzer Trophy and today’s electric competition.  “Five of the first six pilots to have their names engraved on the Pulitzer Trophy were military airmen clocked around a closed course at speeds starting at 157 mph in 1920, up to a blistering 248 mph by 1925. The trophy was created to inspire innovation, and particularly faster airplanes. That vintage trophy housed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum will be engraved with its first new name in 97 years in 2022, following completion of a 1,000-nautical-mile cross-country race by up to 25 electric aircraft.” Ralph Pulitzer was son of Joseph Pulitzer, whose prizes for …

Skydweller Seeks Ultra-Persistence

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Skydweller Aero, an adaptation of Solar Impulse technologies, is working with the U. S. Navy to provide ultra-persistent flight capabilities.  It’s using Solar Impulse Two, for which Skydweller purchased the assets and intellectual property rights.  Being flown in Spain at this time, the aircraft’s 2,900 square feet of solar cells provide two kilowatts of power, and may be augmented by hydrogen fuel cells in future. In Spain Skydweller founders John Parkes and Robert Miller have headquarters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but are performing flight tests in Spain, coordinating efforts with the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM). After successfully completing ground tests that checked the structure and control systems, Skydweller works toward crafting the software that will guide it on unpiloted missions, scheduled to last at least 30 to 60 days.  Such persistence, long sought by the military for ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) missions, is also essential for many future civilian applications.  Co-founder John Parkes explained this to Aviation Today.  …

Joby Quietly Achieves its Range, Heads to Washington, D. C.

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Joby Aero Inc. has displayed its ultra-quiet operation, flown a promised distance and become an investment favorite in the last few months. Now it’s headed to Washington, D. C. to consolidate relations with law- and opinion makers. Quietude As a follow-up to its recent demonstration of quietude on Public Broadcasting’s “Great Electric Airplane Race,” Joby staged a head-to-head test of its near silent operation against other aircraft.  Note the perceived noise and the aural signature as each craft passes overhead. Going the Distance One thing prominent in Joby’s on-line presence is their promise that their electric air taxi will be able to travel 150 miles on a single charge – including a vertical takeoff and landing. Flown from the ground by Chief Test Pilot Justin Paines, the machine, “…Took off vertically before transitioning to forward flight and completing 11 laps of a predefined circuit. After more than 1 hour and 17 minutes in the air, the aircraft landed vertically, having …

Look!  Up in the Sky!  At Oshkosh

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Two different machines, with vastly different purposes and unique looks, are flying electrically above Wittman Field for the worlds’ biggest airshow.  The Experimental Aircraft Association’s gathering, having skipped a year because of the pandemic, is back with nearly twice the number of attendees.  It’s a crowd ready to be rocked. Volocopter Helena Treeck, head of public relations for Volocopter GmbH, is on scene at AirVenture, not only promoting her company’s machines, but granting interviews and reporting herself. She shares the experience.  “The crewed Volocopter 2X took off at 2:45 PM CST for a 4-minute flight at ~164 feet and a top speed of 18 mph over Wittman Regional Airport as part of EAA’s AirVenture aviation celebration. Event attendees were able to watch the Volocopter 2X fly and take a seat in the VoloCity model at Volocopter’s booth to experience these aircraft. Nicknamed the ‘World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration,’ more than 600,000 visitors are expected to come to see pioneering designs in …

VoltAero Demonstrates Quiet Flight

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At least two Cessna 337s are flying on modified power systems – one with Ampaire in various locations around the world and one in France.  VoltAero’s French Cessna push-pull twin has been turned into a tri-motor, with twin motors sprouting from the front of the craft’s tail booms.  Like its American counterpart, VoltAero’s machine is a test bed for the planned power system that will mark its successor.  VoltAero reveals its coming aircraft will feature a “barrel”-type arrangement of three 60 kilowatt electric motors ringing a central internal-combustion (thermal) engine.  Jean Botti, CEO of VoltAero, explains the motor configuration is well-proven, having flown in the Cassio 1 demonstrator (the Cessna) since October last year.  Since then, it’s been flown around a series of airports in France, racking up over 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) in 10 hops visiting 11 cities. Later versions of the Cassio design will feature the 330 kW hybrid arrangement of Cassio 1, producing 442 horsepower.  Later versions …

Joseph Oldham Beams an American Record

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A new “record” for an electric aircraft flight probably won’t make the books, but was a great sales opportunity for the off-grid charging system that accompanied it. 21 electric airplane records exist in the list of Federation Aeronautique Internationale-recognized achievements.  At least one was set in 2012 by Jean-Luc Soullier in his Colomban MC-30 Luciole (Firefly) – 189.87 kilometers per hour (117.98 mph) over a 15 kilometer closed course using a Lynch-type brushed motor.  It topped his record in February of the same year of 136.4 kph (84.76 mph). For a while, Soullier held records for altitude and distance, but these were eclipsed by others.  At the time, your editor encouraged beating these records, since they were early efforts in a field that should have shown greater progress that it has.  Batteries are not that much improved in some respects. Recent flights in Australia, Europe, and America required a mobile infrastructure to charge those batteries.  Cars, trucks and airplanes carried …

Take Heart!  United We Fly!

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Heart Aerospace, on the airport at Gothenburg Airport in southern Sweden, wants to bring inexpensive, four-motor electric flight to the masses.  With $35 million (29.4 million euros) in recently acquired backing, the small team at Heart is working toward making a 19-passenger, four-motor airliner a reality.  Their ES-19 is a single-aisle design with eight-rows of single seats and three-seat row at the cabin’s rear. Those 19 seats are a selling point, with United Airlines signing purchase contracts for 100 of the $ 9 million machines.  Mesa Airlines follows suit for another 100 and Finnair, Finland’s national airline, has expressed interest in another 20.  Funding from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures and other investors totals over $35 million.  For a niche market, the possibilities are expansive, with many small airlines flying short routes ready for such a craft. Heart sees the 19-seat market as promising, since few 19-seat commuter liners exist anymore.  Part of that is economic, with small turboprops being …