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Building Better eVTOL Batteries for UAM
Two Salts are Better Than One
In a pre-peer reviewed paper on deck at SSRN (formerly the Social Science Research Network) a group of scientists from the U.S.’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (a division of the U.S. Government) working with a fellow from Aberdeen Proving Ground – Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory are studying ways to more quickly discharge the electrolytes and enable higher power extraction from the lithium-ion batteries used to power eVTOLs and enhance their performance during the types of short-range flights eVTOLs and air taxis will frequently make as they enter service in the next few years.
A dash of salt
Two salts are better than one when it comes to electrolytes for eVTOL batteries
What the Oak Ridge researchers discovered was that through 500 cycles, theGen-2 system displayed signs of polarization and capacity loss, particularly during high-rate hover and descent phases of operations. By comparison, the dual-salt electrolyte system was stable retaining capacity and exhibiting low polarization potentials through the flight cycle.
The Oak Ridge researchers demonstrated that a dual-salt electrolyte system performed significantly better than a Gen-2 electrolyte suggesting it is the more reliable and efficient battery tool for eVTOL energy storage systems.
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