Scientists showcase specially built eVTOL batteries: charging for 10 minutes with a range of 50 miles

According to foreign media New Atlas, lithium-ion batteries have done a great job in supplying power to smartphones, laptops, and even cars, but electric flights pose some unique challenges to this energy storage solution. Scientists have now demonstrated a new type of lithium battery that utilizes innovative high-temperature charging technology to provide sufficient energy for air travel in just 5 to 10 minutes.

Compared to powering cars on highways, flying with an electric power system and batteries is so difficult because all these heavy equipment needs to be towed into the air. There is a limit to how much energy a battery can store and still be lightweight enough for aircraft takeoff, which pales in comparison to the energy density provided by traditional kerosene based jet fuels.

One of the key challenges facing the electric aviation industry is to enable these batteries to carry more energy per kilogram, although there are other factors to consider. These factors include fast charging time to maintain aircraft movement, avoid inefficient battery replacement, and enable these batteries to provide the required energy.

Wang Chaoyang, a mechanical engineer at Pennsylvania State University and the author of the study, said, "The batteries of flying cars require a very high energy density so that you can stay in the air. And they also require very high power during takeoff and landing. It requires a lot of power to vertically ascend and descend."

The new technology demonstrated by Wang Chaoyang and his colleagues is actually based on the experimental battery they developed a few years ago. Traditionally, lithium batteries can only operate safely within a certain temperature range. Researchers have found a solution to this problem through a unique design that uses a thin nickel foil connected to the negative electrode, which can quickly heat the battery to 60 ℃ (140 ° F) within 30 seconds. The battery only remained at this temperature for 10 minutes and then quickly cooled down.

This is sufficient to utilize the higher charging efficiency provided by higher operating temperatures, but avoids degradation and lithium plating. In 2019, scientists demonstrated this by constructing a prototype battery that could charge electric vehicles in 10 minutes, providing a range of up to 300 miles (480 kilometers). Now, they have customized this technology for eVTOL (Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) aircraft.

The team said that the new experimental battery has the density required to provide a 50 mile (80 kilometer) journey for an eVTOL aircraft, but due to the use of high-temperature charging technology, it can be charged within 5 to 10 minutes. To demonstrate the durability of the design, the team also demonstrated that this performance can sustain 2000 fast charging cycles.

Wang Chaoyang said, "Under normal circumstances, the three attributes required for eVTOL batteries are interdependent. High energy density reduces fast charging, which typically reduces the number of possible charging cycles. However, we can achieve these three in one battery."

The batteries built by the team are not meant to be thrown into a flying taxi for takeoff. On the contrary, its development is a way to measure the unique battery requirements of this type of transportation, which will involve frequent takeoff and landing as well as extensive charging, laying the foundation for technology that combines them in a feasible way.

"I hope the work we do in this paper will give people a solid idea that we don't need another 20 years to ultimately obtain these vehicles," said Wang Chaoyang. "I believe we have proven that eVTOL is commercially viable."

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