CATL is the biggest Li-ion battery producer by far and one of the primary cell suppliers to Tesla. Although mainly known for its LFP battery cells, CATL works on other chemistries, including solid-state and sodium- and calcium-based batteries.

 

The Chinese company announced at Auto Shanghai 2023 a new type of battery called "condensed battery." 

 

CATL thinks the battery is safe enough to be used on aircraft and aims to achieve mass production "in a short period of time."

 

READ MORE

https://www.autoevolution.com/news/catl-unveils-condensed-battery-with-an-energy-density-of-500-wh-kg-213684.html

 

Wow! This could be huge. Although, its hugeness depends on the price of the battery per KWH.  If it costs 3 times as much on that basis probably not of much significance for EVs. But for regional aviation it could still be huge. There's a company called Alice Air that offers an electric plane with a range of 650 with battery that has a capacity  of 260 KWH. Given that the battery from CATL not only has nearly double that capacity but is also lighter that should effectively double its range or allow for an aircraft that can hold a lot more passengers.

Given that its top speed is 276 mph, probably the latter is more likely.

https://insideevs.com/news/336485/this-electric-aircraft-features-a-900-kwh-battery-650-mile-range/

Wow. 500 Wh per kg.

Quote

combustible fuels like kerosene have an energy density of roughly 40 MJ/kg, about 12,000 Wh/kg.

Have a good flight.

 

Just imagine one of those battery fails at 35,000 feet..........????

15 minutes ago, transam said:

Just imagine one of those battery fails at 35,000 feet..........????

An aircraft failing at 35000 feet. A good thing that's never happened before. And of course an electrical engine is far more unreliable than one powered by internal combustion...oh wait a minute...

4 minutes ago, placeholder said:

An aircraft failing at 35000 feet. A good thing that's never happened before. And of course an electrical engine is far more unreliable than one powered by internal combustion...oh wait a minute...

Oh, hello again PH, of course it has never happened, as there are no electric commercial planes up there, yet...........???? 

 

Yes, wait a minute, electric plane engines are in their infancy, now don't put the cart before the horse, mon amie.....

Let's hope they don't use lithium or rare earth metals then.

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Let's hope they don't use lithium or rare earth metals then.

Well, if they used rare earths that would be first. Rare earths are not used in batteries.

 

Rare earths and EVs — it’s not about batteries

https://www.batterypowertips.com/rare-earths-and-evs-its-not-about-batteries-faq/

 

As for lithium...currently there's a glut. Prices have collapsed.

 

Lithium Prices Have Crashed Spectacularly, Here’s What Next

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lithium-prices-crashed-spectacularly-next-200000652.html