CATL signs exclusive battery supply deals with two eVTOL makers and sets up an airworthiness lab

Chinese battery maker CATL, whose factories produce about 4 of every 10 car batteries in the world, is moving into batteries for eVTOL aircraft, autonocion.com reports. In less than two weeks the company closed two exclusive supply agreements with aircraft makers and created a laboratory for airworthiness testing of its batteries autonocion.comautonocion.comautonocion.comOpen source ↗.

Supply agreements with eVTOL makers

EVT Aerotechnics, a Chinese eVTOL developer, chose CATL as its exclusive battery partner for its passenger and cargo aircraft. CATL committed to supply aviation batteries with high energy density, long range and high safety levels.

In early November CATL announced agreements with Blue Vector Intelligent Technology, whose subsidiary Skyla Aviation also chose it as its exclusive battery supplier. The agreement centers on the Skyla V30, a fully electric six-seat tilt-rotor aircraft.

Aviation requirements for cells

Experience with batteries for millions of cars is not enough for flight: aviation batteries must meet much stricter performance and safety requirements than those of an electric car. The first is weight. An eVTOL needs a great deal of energy in very few kilograms, because every extra gram reduces range autonocion.comautonocion.comautonocion.comOpen source ↗.

The second is safety. In the air there is much less margin in the case of thermal runaway, the failure of a single cell, or a system without sufficient redundancy.

In 2023 CATL presented its condensed matter battery, with a target energy density of up to 500 Wh/kg per cell, designed specifically for crewed electric aircraft. In August, its battery system for crewed eVTOL passed a test in which thermal runaway was triggered in two adjacent cells without spreading to the rest. According to the company, it is the first aviation battery system in the world to achieve this with prismatic cells of up to 350 Wh/kg.

CATL also turned to the Civil Aviation University of China to create a joint innovation laboratory for the airworthiness of aviation batteries. With the university, the company intends to develop the regulatory and safety framework required for this business autonocion.comautonocion.comautonocion.comOpen source ↗.