Lilium Announced its Working with Ionblox on its eVTOL Battery
Colin Smith — February 13, 2023 — Autos
Lilium, an aviation company, is developing an eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft with a battery supplied by Ionblox, previously known as Zenlabs. The eVTOL will act like a kind of electric air minibus for regional flights. The aircraft has a unique design that utilizes tiny, ducted electric "jets" instead of exposed propellers. However, this design places a unique strain on the aircraft's batteries.
To handle the kind of long-range flights Lilium needs to perform, the battery will need to have high specific energy, as well as a high power density to handle high-output VTOL flight phases. The battery will also need to be capable of high power outputs even at a low state of charge. To address this, Lilium has invested millions into a company called Ionblox which has developed a battery with a silicon-dominant anode instead of the conventional graphite anode.
The battery is capable of high charge/discharge rates and a solid 25% increase in specific energy compared to Tesla Model 3 batteries. The power density of Ionblox's battery can handle 3.8 kW per kilogram and still maintain a high output even at a low state of charge. The company has also tested its battery for longevity, finding that it still has more than 80% of its capacity after being charged and discharged 1,000 times.
Image Credit: Lilium
To handle the kind of long-range flights Lilium needs to perform, the battery will need to have high specific energy, as well as a high power density to handle high-output VTOL flight phases. The battery will also need to be capable of high power outputs even at a low state of charge. To address this, Lilium has invested millions into a company called Ionblox which has developed a battery with a silicon-dominant anode instead of the conventional graphite anode.
The battery is capable of high charge/discharge rates and a solid 25% increase in specific energy compared to Tesla Model 3 batteries. The power density of Ionblox's battery can handle 3.8 kW per kilogram and still maintain a high output even at a low state of charge. The company has also tested its battery for longevity, finding that it still has more than 80% of its capacity after being charged and discharged 1,000 times.
Image Credit: Lilium
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Trend Themes
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Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing Aircraft (evtol) Batteries — Developing high-performance batteries that can handle the unique strains of eVTOL aircraft design like high specific energy and power density could be a disruptive innovation opportunity.
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Silicon-dominant Anode Batteries — Using silicon-dominant anodes instead of conventional graphite anodes in batteries could be a disruptive innovation opportunity for increasing specific energy and charge/discharge rates.
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High Power Density Batteries — Developing batteries that can maintain high output even at a low state of charge could be a disruptive innovation opportunity, especially for vehicles like eVTOL aircraft with high-output phases.
Industry Implications
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Aviation — Developing batteries that can handle the unique strains of eVTOL aircraft design could be a disruptive innovation opportunity for the aviation industry.
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Battery Technology — Using silicon-dominant anodes and innovative battery designs to increase specific energy, charge/discharge rates, and power density could be a disruptive innovation opportunity for the battery technology industry.
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Transportation — Developing high-output batteries that perform well even at low states of charge could be a disruptive innovation opportunity for the transportation industry, especially for electric vehicles and aircraft.
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