The Chinese Catl produces maxi batteries for electric aircraft
While the EU tries to figure out where to find rare earths for electric cars, the Chinese, who have moved with foresight for the supply of crucial materials, are already designing batteries for electric aircraft
We are not just talking about cars (obviously electric) at the Shanghai Motor Show , which is destined to become the main one in the automotive world given the boldness of Chinese brands. The Asian giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Company, better known as Catl, has in fact announced to the world a battery that would be able to revolutionize the civil aeronautics sector allowing aircraft to take off, fly and land without emissions of any kind.
CIVIL AVIATION EMISSIONS IN NUMBERS
In 2019, the last year useful for understanding the extent of pollution in a sector that effectively remained grounded with the lockdowns, civil aviation was responsible for 10% of the overall carbon emissions of the entire international transport industry, as well as of between 2 and 3% of man-made emissions.
Until now, the most probable solutions seemed to come from SAF, Sustainable Aviation Fuels, fuels produced from sustainable resources such as used oils and agricultural residues that allow for a reduction of CO2 emissions by 80% compared to traditional fossil fuels. Currently, their use in aviation is linked to mixing with traditional fuel, while the goal in the near future is to use them exclusively. And then, in 2050, have a zero-impact civil aviation, according to the road map drawn up by ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization.
IS CATL BEING ELECTRIC AIRCRAFT?
«The launch of this cutting-edge technology – reads the company's press release – breaks the limits that have long held back the development of the battery sector and will open a new electrification scenario focused on a high level of safety and lightness». All this through a "condensed battery", or rather a semi-solid state electrochemical storage device. This technology, thanks to the combination of solid and liquid electrolyte components, overcomes the problems of solid-state batteries while providing higher energy densities than lithium-ion ones.
The company's new condensed battery would boast an energy density of 500 Wh/kg and high operational safety. To get an idea of the proportions involved, the rechargeable lithium-ion batteries on the market today are around 265 Wh/kg. A value that is well above even the efforts of Nio which announced some time ago a maxi battery of 360 Wh/kg.
The most surprising aspect is that the Chinese of Catl claim to be able to start the production of maxi batteries for electric aircraft as early as this year: a real revolution for the sector, especially considering the difficulties registered in the automotive sector of go through a similar revolution, which however began more time ago.
THE DOMAIN OF CATL
But Catl seems very fast , having stolen the scepter of the world's largest battery maker from Panasonic (which still has a preferred supplier contract with Tesla) since before the pandemic. Between 2021 and 2022, it went from 33 to 37% of the market share. BYD, another Chinese giant, instead dropped from 19.7% to 13.6% being joined by LG Energy Solution (Korean), which instead managed to grow from 8.7% to 13.6%. Finally, the other two companies that occupy the top 5 are down slightly: Panasonic (Japanese), which from 12% in 2021 is now at 7.3%, and SK On (also Korean), from 5.7% at 5.4%.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/catl-batterie-aerei-elettrici/ on Fri, 21 Apr 2023 08:11:49 +0000.