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The aviation industry has been achingly slow to loosen its grip on kerosene jet fuel. Signs of change have been brewing in the field of battery-powered electric aircraft, but so far the focus has been on flying machines at the smaller end of the scale. Full sized cargo and passenger planes represent a next-level challenge, requiring a new generation of lighter, higher-performing batteries. As if on cue, the US startup Air Energy has come up with a solution…
The Long Road To A High-Density Battery For Electric Aircraft…
If you’re thinking solid state lithium-air batteries are in play, run right out and buy yourself a cigar. Lithium-air is one of those futuristic energy storage technologies that seemed to be going nowhere not too long ago. The idea was to use oxygen as a key ingredient in a rechargeable lithium-based battery, thereby saving considerable weight while potentially boosting energy density far beyond the capacity of ordinary lithium-ion technology.
The vision of a lithium-air battery refused to die, though. Support from the US Department of Energy kept research programs in the US afloat during the early 2000’s, complementing other Obama-era R&D activity in support of electric aircraft.
