Abstract
More-electric, hybrid-electric and all-electric aircraft concepts are key enablers in tackling the
challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation making use of electrical energy to enable highly energy-efficient electric drive trains and distributed electric propulsion concepts. However, the limited energy and power density of current battery technologies, leading to a substantial weight penalty is a major limiting factor for the large-scale introduction of electrified aircraft. LiB currently is reaching its theoretical limits
and will remain the dominant technology in the upcoming years. One possible alternative to conventional battery systems installed in aircraft are multifunctional load-bearing structures capable of storing electrical energy, also known as structural batteries (SBs), as they offer highest degree of integration enabling effective energy densities (at integration level) that double or triple the cell level GED.
AIT is developing structural battery technology specifically for aeronautical applications in the EU-funded CS2 SOLIFLY and HE MATISSE projects. A structural electrochemistry with non-flammable thermoplast-ionic liquid structural electrolyte and high-energy composite electrodes was developed that is scalable from small lab to pilot line [1]. Two SB cell concepts were developed, AIT’s thin multilayer laminate SB cells [1] and UNIVIE’s coated carbon fibre concept [2]. Their integration into solid laminate carbon-fibre composite structures was studied to maintain the high mechanical strength of the monofunctional baseline structure [3].
In the SOLIFLY project, the AIT SB technology was successfully demonstrated in the first high-strength aeronautic-grade multifunctional stiffened panel. The panel integrated 20 AIT SB cells in its skin with minimum weight impact without change of its global rigidity under high compression loading of up to 18 tons. 80% of the SB cells were functional after autoclave curing and none of the controlled cells failed during the testing.
One important factor for future introduction of SB technology is its scalability. SOLIFLY has assessed the manufacturability of the two SB cell concepts against SotA battery cell production [4], see Fig. 1, identifying the process steps in conventional battery cell production that are already available with high transferability (green), low to mid transferability (yellow) and processes that not yet available (red), proving the scalability of the AIT SB approach.
This poster discusses the progress made in structural batteries for aviation in current EU projects, their potential and challenges for their maturation.
REFERENCES
[1] https://www.iccm-central.org/Proceedings/ICCM23proceedings/papers/ICCM23_Full_Paper_198.pdf
[2] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2023.110312
[3] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2023.110384
[4] https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101007577/results
challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation making use of electrical energy to enable highly energy-efficient electric drive trains and distributed electric propulsion concepts. However, the limited energy and power density of current battery technologies, leading to a substantial weight penalty is a major limiting factor for the large-scale introduction of electrified aircraft. LiB currently is reaching its theoretical limits
and will remain the dominant technology in the upcoming years. One possible alternative to conventional battery systems installed in aircraft are multifunctional load-bearing structures capable of storing electrical energy, also known as structural batteries (SBs), as they offer highest degree of integration enabling effective energy densities (at integration level) that double or triple the cell level GED.
AIT is developing structural battery technology specifically for aeronautical applications in the EU-funded CS2 SOLIFLY and HE MATISSE projects. A structural electrochemistry with non-flammable thermoplast-ionic liquid structural electrolyte and high-energy composite electrodes was developed that is scalable from small lab to pilot line [1]. Two SB cell concepts were developed, AIT’s thin multilayer laminate SB cells [1] and UNIVIE’s coated carbon fibre concept [2]. Their integration into solid laminate carbon-fibre composite structures was studied to maintain the high mechanical strength of the monofunctional baseline structure [3].
In the SOLIFLY project, the AIT SB technology was successfully demonstrated in the first high-strength aeronautic-grade multifunctional stiffened panel. The panel integrated 20 AIT SB cells in its skin with minimum weight impact without change of its global rigidity under high compression loading of up to 18 tons. 80% of the SB cells were functional after autoclave curing and none of the controlled cells failed during the testing.
One important factor for future introduction of SB technology is its scalability. SOLIFLY has assessed the manufacturability of the two SB cell concepts against SotA battery cell production [4], see Fig. 1, identifying the process steps in conventional battery cell production that are already available with high transferability (green), low to mid transferability (yellow) and processes that not yet available (red), proving the scalability of the AIT SB approach.
This poster discusses the progress made in structural batteries for aviation in current EU projects, their potential and challenges for their maturation.
REFERENCES
[1] https://www.iccm-central.org/Proceedings/ICCM23proceedings/papers/ICCM23_Full_Paper_198.pdf
[2] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2023.110312
[3] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2023.110384
[4] https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101007577/results
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 27 May 2024 |
| Event | Battery2030+ annual conference - Grenoble, France Duration: 28 May 2024 → 29 May 2024 |
Conference
| Conference | Battery2030+ annual conference |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | France |
| City | Grenoble |
| Period | 28/05/24 → 29/05/24 |
Research Field
- Hybrid Electric Aircraft Technologies