Is the dream of electric flight getting closer now?

E-plane at the Aero aviation fair in Friedrichshafen

The energy density of the batteries is still only sufficient for the operation of small aircraft. But there are significant advances in battery technology.

(Photo: IMAGO/Daniel Kubirski)

Frankfurt Ambitious announcements by battery manufacturers raise new hopes for electric air travel. The industry actually sees the future in fuels produced in a climate-neutral manner. Their energy density per kilogram is significantly higher than that of batteries that are too heavy for flight use.

But in the past few weeks, first the US company Amprius Technologies and now the Chinese battery group CATL have announced the production of battery cells with an energy density of 500 watt hours per kilogram (Wh/kg). Today’s batteries in Tesla cars reach a maximum of 200 Wh/kg, even very powerful batteries rarely exceed 300 Wh/kg.

CATL does not only see road traffic as a possible use for the new super batteries. They would also open up entirely new scenarios for the “electrification of passenger aircraft,” according to a statement. Maximilian Fichtner enthusiastically tweeted about it: “Dreams come true, including flight operations.” Fichtner is Managing Director of the Helmholtz Institute in Ulm, where research is carried out into electrochemical battery concepts of the future.

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