The challenges and opportunities of battery-powered flight

Venkatasubramanian Viswanathan; Alan H Epstein; Yet-Ming Chiang; Esther Takeuchi; Marty Bradley; John Langford; Michael Winter

doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04139-1

The challenges and opportunities of battery-powered flight

Nature. 2022 Jan;601(7894):519-525. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-04139-1. Epub 2022 Jan 26.

Authors

Venkatasubramanian Viswanathan¹, Alan H Epstein², Yet-Ming Chiang³, Esther Takeuchi^{4

5}, Marty Bradley⁶, John Langford⁷, Michael Winter⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. venkvis@cmu.edu.
² Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. epstein@mit.edu.
³ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
⁴ Department of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA.
⁵ Interdisciplinary Science Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, USA.
⁶ Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁷ Electra.aero, Falls Church, VA, USA.
⁸ Pratt & Whitney, Hartford, CT, USA.

PMID: 35082419
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04139-1

Abstract

Aircraft, and the aviation ecosystem in which they operate, are shaped by complex trades among technical requirements, economics and environmental concerns, all built on a foundation of safety. This Perspective explores the requirements of battery-powered aircraft and the chemistries that hold promise to enable them. The difference between flight and terrestrial needs and chemistries are highlighted. Safe, usable specific energy rather than cost is the major constraint for aviation. We conclude that battery packs suitable for flight with specific energy approaching 600 kilowatt hours per kilogram may be achievable in the next decade given sufficient investment targeted at aeronautical applications.

Publication types

Review