Chinese power battery giant CATL has reportedly launched a new aviation unit on Wednesday, along with its Chinese partners for electric airplane development.
COMAC Times Aviation to explore electric airplane technology
Yicai Global reported that CATL and China-owned planemaker Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) recently formed a new joint venture with Shanghai Jiao Tong University Enterprise Development Group – COMAC Times Aviation.
The corporate registration data revealed that the JV has a registered capital of CNY600 million (USD83.6 million). Unfortunately, the shareholding distribution is yet to be disclosed.
The report noted that COMAC Times Aviation Legal Representative Qian Zhongyan is currently the COMAC research institute’s director. He was also the deputy chief designer of the country’s first-ever domestically produced large passenger plane, the C919.
Notably, COMAC has long been developing “new energy” aircraft since 2019. Over the years, the company has seen progress with its Lingque-H hydrogen plane, particularly in passing necessary test flights.
As per the sources, COMAC now aims to build a fixed-wing electric aircraft. However, the project is still in the first development phase at the company’s research facility in Beijing.
The companies have yet to confirm and elaborate on the details of the new JV. Nonetheless, the Chinese media suggests that CATL will leverage its newly developed next-generation condensed batteries for electric plane applications.
Chief Scientist Wu Kai previously disclosed that CATL is co-developing manned aircraft for civil use. He also stated that the company has started making and testing condensed batteries per automobile- and aircraft-grade standards.
About CATL’s condensed batteries
The EV battery giant CATL previously introduced its new condensed batteries at the recent Auto Shanghai in April. It claims to offer an energy density of up to 500 Wh/kg. It indicates a significant improvement from the company’s ultra-efficient Qilin batteries that offers an energy density of up to 255 Wh/kg.
CATL asserts that it can also achieve exceptional safety levels apart from ensuring higher energy density. That said, the company believes that the condensed batteries can open up “a brand-new electrification scenario of passenger aircraft.”
Notably, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also stated before that electric planes need lighter weight and more potent batteries to generate more than 450 Wh/kg of energy density.
Therefore, CATL’s condensed batteries effectively passed that criterion. However, it has yet to mass produce the battery.
See Also:
- CATL presents its new “Condensed Battery” at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show
- CATL starts mass production of upgraded Qilin battery in China
- CATL explores EV battery technology without lithium, other companies outpaced it
- EV battery market leader CATL reported shares decline in January, BYD increases
- EV battery market grew 71.8% in 2022, CATL remained unbeatable
CATL’s entry into aircraft development will arguably revolutionize the industry, paving the way for more sustainable and cost-effective airplanes. It can also potentially advance the electric vehicle battery technology by introducing higher energy density capability.
