Aircraft

CATL throws its world-leading ultra-range battery muscle into eVTOLs

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AutoFlight has been making fast progress with its eVTOL line over the past several years, and now it's teamed with CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer
AutoFlight
AutoFlight and CATL look to usher eVTOL range and performance into a new generation
AutoFlight
In addition to announcing the CATL partnership, AutoFlight kicked off August by completing a maiden eVTOL air taxi flight across China's Yangtze River
AutoFlight
After years of developing drones, AutoFlight turned attention to developing air taxis back in 2021 and has made quick, steady progress in design, engineering and testing
AutoFlight
AutoFlight says its 15-mile trip across the Yangtze was a first for an eVTOL weighing over a ton
AutoFlight
AutoFlight has been making fast progress with its eVTOL line over the past several years, and now it's teamed with CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer
AutoFlight
AutoFlight leaps the Yangtze River
AutoFlight
The Yangtze crossing is significant because AutoFlight estimates that an air taxi could cut certain cross-river trip times in the city of Nanjing by 80 percent as compared to driving, down to just five minutes

AutoFlight
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China's AutoFlight currently holds the record for world's longest eVTOL flight with the 155.7-mile (250.6-km) mark it set in 2023 in the dramatic Prosperity air taxi designed by former McLaren and Lilium draft king Frank Stephenson. Now its robust battery and range-maximizing technology is poised to get a major boost, as the company has signed a collaborative agreement with CATL, the global battery leader that's launched some of the market's most energy-dense battery offerings. That 155-mile achievement is sure to be overshadowed by what this heavy-hitting duo comes up with in the future.

AutoFlight announced this month it has signed an exclusive investment and cooperation agreement that will see them partner on joint research and development of aviation-grade battery technology. The agreement will also see CATL invest hundreds of millions of dollars in AutoFlight.

This is huge news, and it's hard to imagine another two-company team-up that could make such a splash in the eVTOL space. Not only is CATL the world's largest battery manufacturer, and a supplier of major automakers around the world, including Tesla, BMW and Toyota, it's also been developing some of the most energy-dense batteries in the world, including a 500-Wh/kg condensed battery aimed at the eVTOL market.

In July, CATL announced it had performed a test flight of a 4-ton aircraft using the battery. Even more impressively, ChinaDaily reported at the time that CATL believes the battery tech is capable of supporting a currently unfathomable 2,000- to 3,000-km (1,240 to 1,865-mile) range in an 8-ton electric aircraft within just a few years' time.

AutoFlight and CATL look to usher eVTOL range and performance into a new generation
AutoFlight

By partnering with AutoFlight, CATL officially establishes its presence in the eVTOL market, where its long-range battery prowess could be particularly disruptive. And it puts serious money down on a very promising horse.

In three short years, we've seen AutoFlight make the transition from drones to air taxis with an initial 2021 prototype, bring on a world-renowned vehicular design chief in Stephenson to evolve the design into the arresting Prosperity passenger eVTOL, rapidly achieve transition flight with the Prosperity I proof-of-concept, and quickly tick off additional milestones like the 155-mile distance record and "world first intercity air taxi flight."

After years of developing drones, AutoFlight turned attention to developing air taxis back in 2021 and has made quick, steady progress in design, engineering and testing
AutoFlight

AutoFlight also obtained type certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for its CarryAll cargo aircraft earlier this year, claiming a world first for a one-ton-class eVTOL. It has since applied for type certification for the five-seat Prosperity eVTOL taxi.

In its current form, the Prosperity is designed around a single pilot and four passengers, relying on 10 lift propellers and three push props powered by a 160-kWh battery to carry a payload up to 400 kg (880 lb). It boasts a top speed of 200 km/h (124 mph) to go along with its 250-km range.

Just last week, Prosperity successfully completed a test flight over China's Yangtze River in the city of Nanjing. Demonstrating the absolute FOMO-generating, traffic-busting potential of eVTOL tech at large, the flight turned what would have been a 25-minute 20-km (12.4-mile) drive across the bridge into a direct five-minute 5.5-km (3.4-mile) lift-and-cruise.

The Yangtze crossing is significant because AutoFlight estimates that an air taxi could cut certain cross-river trip times in the city of Nanjing by 80 percent as compared to driving, down to just five minutes

AutoFlight

Moving forward, AutoFlight and CATL plan to pool resources and technical expertise toward enhancing the energy density and overall performance of eVTOL batteries in support of longer flight distances and higher payload capacities. The extra funding will also enable it to expedite the further R&D and airworthiness certification of the Prosperity air taxi.

Source: AutoFlight

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4 comments
michael_dowling
There are a number of up and coming power sources for this application. Aluminum air comes to mind,although not a rechargeable battery in the strictest sense,along with cryogenic H2. The former is probably the closest to realization,as it only requires keeping powdered aluminum on hand for "recharging",and has an enormous energy density of up to 8100 Wh kg. Cryogenic H2 requires having liquid H2 for refueling.
guzmanchinky
I'll take a Jetson with double the flight time, please.
vince
It's Jetsons time soon!
Steven Clarkson
The future NOW The electric revolution is starting to come into Focus!

We also need more work to be done on Supercaps and more solid state power sources.

Lets Fully Embrace it as it completely takes over !