https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/battery-maker-plans-16000-pound-1500nm-aircraft-for-2028/

Battery Maker Plans 16,000 Pound, 1500nm Aircraft For 2028
By Russ Niles -Published:July 2, 20243

Chinese lithium batter company Contemporary Amperex Technology Company
Limited (CATL) says it will have a 16,000 pound electric aircraft with a
range of up to 1500 nautical miles flying by 2028. NewAtlas reported the company, which supplies most of the electric car batteries in the world,
said it flew an 8,000 pound plane powered by its so-called “condensed
battery” recently but didn’t give any details on the flight or the airplane.

CATL announced last year that its condensed batteries pack a whopping 500
watt hours per kilogram, about double the storage potential of the best car batteries. It says they’re light weight, safe and designed specifically for aircraft but it has been light on publicly releasing details. CATL is in partnership with the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and created an aircraft division to explore that market. ------------------------------------------

https://newatlas.com/aircraft/catl-worlds-largest-ev-battery-manufacturer-aircraft/

Surprise test flight heralds ultra-long-range electric aircraft by 2028
By Joe Salas
June 26, 2024
High-density batteries could be huge for electric passenger aircraft High-density batteries could be huge for electric passenger aircraftCATL
VIEW 2 IMAGES

Chinese battery giant CATL says it's successfully flown a 4-ton plane using
its ultra-high density "condensed batteries." It now expects to have an
8-ton electric aircraft with a range of 2,000 to 3,000 km (1,240-1,865
miles) operating in 3-4 years.
Contemporary Amperex Technology Company Limited (CATL) is the current world leader in manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles, owning 37% of the entire market share. Nearly every major car manufacturer, from Ford to
Tesla, is using CATL batteries.

In April of 2023, CATL announced its "condensed battery" packing over twice
the energy density of nearly anything else on the market at an incredible
500 Wh/kg. For reference, a typical lead acid car battery can have upwards
of 50 Wh/kg, while lithium-ion EV batteries like those in the Tesla Model 3
can pack up to around 265 Wh/kg.

CATL says it's ready for mass production of super-dense 500-Wh/kg lithium batteries
CATL says it's ready for mass production of super-dense 500-Wh/kg lithium batteriesCATL
The company says the condensed battery was designed with safety and weight
in mind – specifically to be aviation-grade, with the expectation of being
used to boost the range of clean aircraft.

Three months after that announcement, CATL established an aviation division, partnering with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) – a Chinese state-owned aviation company.

And things have moved very quickly since then. On Tuesday, CATL announced
that it has successfully test flown a 4-ton aircraft on battery power. The craft's battery bank, engine configuration, any data regarding flight
length, altitude, or speeds all appear to be closely guarded state secrets
at the time of writing, but ChinaDaily reports CATL is aiming to have a commercial electric aircraft with a range of 2,000 to 3,000 km (1,240 to
1,865 miles) ready by 2027 or 2028.

An 8-ton aircraft is a far cry from a 31-ton Boeing 737 or a 41-ton Airbus A320, but a Learjet 70/75 weighs in at just over 7 tons and can fly with
nine passengers on board, which appears to be the market CATL is initially targeting.

The promised range figures far exceed any clean passenger aircraft currently flying. Even futuristic battery-electric airliner concepts like the Elysian
E9X promise no more than 1,000 km (621 miles), and we're not seeing range promises anywhere near this even using liquid hydrogen fuel – so if CATL can
do what it claims, this is indeed a giant leap in aviation technology.

Chinese aviation authorities have already demonstrated a willingness to push forward with futuristic electric air transport by fully certifying eHang's eVTOL air taxi operations years before US or European regulators are ready
to greenlight similar commercial aircraft in the West.

On the other hand, the more energy per weight any given battery carries, the higher the likelihood of thermal runaway issues, and the more spectacularly destructive the outcome becomes when things go wrong. Five hundred Wh/kg is
a very frightening number in that context, so we certainly hope safety
testing is first, second and third priority as CATL works to get this remarkable aircraft into service within a few years.

Source: ChinaDaily: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202406/25/WS667a5675a31095c51c50ab4d.html

7 COMMENTS

Rocky Stefano JUNE 27, 2024 08:46 AM
I had to jump through hoops just to ship tiny ultrathin batteries via UPS
air. I don't understand how they plan to negate those same issues and
integrate it with an airplane.

vince JUNE 27, 2024 09:16 AM
Batteries with over 1000 wh/kg are almost ready for production. And a plabe doesnt need as much shielding for plane accidents as they do for car
accidents so the skin of the plane can actually function as one side of a battery. In this way weight is reduced and range extended even more.
Probably enabling 1000 mile planes for 100 pasengers at 300 mph.

windykites JUNE 28, 2024 07:05 AM
How about assisted take off with a tow line, as used with gliders? That
would save a lot of battery energy. Also regenerative braking on landing.

Rusty JUNE 30, 2024 06:18 PM
LOL, I'd get on one of these Chinese battery powered aircraft...about as
much as I would get on a Boeing 737 MAX

Steven Clarkson JULY 1, 2024 03:32 AM
@Rusty
Why is that ??
Chinese manufacturer Ehang holds the Record for most comnercial flights
without any fatalities !
Time to update your knowledge and understanding of chinese technology, everything is made there these days ;)

NP75 JULY 1, 2024 01:57 PM
I'm with Rusty. The Chinese are not far removed from only copying Russian / Soviet aircraft. I would not get on a Chinese plane regardless of
powerplant.

Towerman JULY 1, 2024 10:08 PM
I side with Steven Clarkson hands down. Real life Use of Chinese aircraft proves any negative comments wrong. Many already jumping into Chinese
Electric aircraft not One have had a bad experience. Technology have
changed, while the west doesnt even have one commercial Evtol operating,
China is accumaliting hours heading towards the thousands, the China of yesterday is not the China of today. ----------------------------------------------------

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202406/25/WS667a5675a31095c51c50ab4d.html

CATL electric plane to support 2,000 km flight
By Cheng Yu and Zhang Xiaomin | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2024-06-25
13:32

A view of the booth of CATL during an expo in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.

CHINA DAILY
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd, the world's largest electric vehicle maker, disclosed on Tuesday that its electric commercial airplane, which is able to support a flight range of 2,000 to 3,000 kilometers, will "be ready
by 2027 or 2028".

It is the first time that the company disclosed the flight range of such a plane, after it has teamed up with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, a China State-owned plane manufacturer, to explore electric passenger airplanes.

Zeng Yuqun, founder of CATL, said that the company has already conducted
test flights with a 4-ton civilian aircraft and the samples and panel line product already put into planes.

The company is also "putting more efforts" into the launch of an 8-ton
electric aircraft expected by 2027 or 2028, with an expected flight range of around 2,000 to 3,000 kilometers by then, he disclosed.

Zeng made the remarks at a session of the 15th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as the Summer Davos Forum, that
opened in Dalian, Northeast China's Liaoning province, on Tuesday.

The company's cutting-edge condensed battery will be used in the frontier plane, he said. With an energy density of up to 500 Wh/kg, the battery can achieve high energy density and a high level of safety at the same time.

On Tuesday, Zeng also disclosed that CATL is developing a new generation of sodium-ion batteries and eyes the release of such batteries for next year.

Such a battery is expected to perform better in terms of cost, lifespan and low-temperature operation. On a technology maturity scale of 1 to 10, CATL's sodium-ion battery project is currently at level 7, he said.

chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn

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