Ehang aims to achieve certification and mass production use of solid-state batteries in the EH216-S eVTOL by the end of 2025.
Chinese electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) developer Ehang (NASDAQ: EH) has completed the first ever flight test of a solid-state battery-powered eVTOL, paving the way for the use of next-generation batteries in smaller aircraft.
The Ehang EH216-S, powered by solid-state batteries, successfully completed a single uninterrupted flight test with a flight duration of 48 minutes and 10 seconds, the company announced today.
This marks the completion of the world's first autonomous manned eVTOL flight test powered by solid-state batteries, Ehang said.
Solid-state batteries are suitable for different flight scenarios, with a significant increase in endurance of 60-90 percent, the company said.
The solid-state batteries, from Ehang-backed Shenzhen-based startup Inx Energy Technology, uses lithium metal as the anode and oxide ceramic as the electrolyte, and has an energy density of 480 Wh/kg.
Compared to liquid lithium batteries, the solid-state batteries have higher energy density, better thermal stability, lower flammability, and a wider operating temperature range, according to the eVTOL maker.
Ehang made a strategic investment in Inx Energy and entered into a strategic partnership with it in September 2023 to jointly develop high-energy solid-state batteries for eVTOL aircraft.
Additionly, the battery research institute of the Advanced Technology Application and Promotion Center, located in Hefei, Anhui province, has been working jointly with Inx Energy on solid-state battery research and development, and has successfully manufactured the solid-state batteries suitable for the EH216-S and completed the flight test, according to the company.
Ehang plans to further test and optimize the performance and stability of the EH216-S with Inx Energy, targeting certification and mass production use of solid-state batteries in the EH216-S by the end of 2025, it said.
Inx Energy will continue to enhance the performance of the solid-state batteries to increase the range of the EH216-S, which is expected to be further improved by 25 percent to 60 minutes in 2025, according to Chen Lin, chairman of the battery maker.
Ehang, one of the earliest Chinese players in the eVTOL space, delivered 26 EH216-Ss in the first quarter of this year, bringing total deliveries of the eVTOL to 263.
This is the first case of solid-state batteries being used in the eVTOL space, as this next-generation battery technology is being pinned on to transform everything from electric vehicles (EVs) to low-altitude mobility.
By the end of this year, an eVTOL powered by CATL batteries is expected to fly for the first time, the battery maker's chairman, Robin Zeng, said at the 2024 World Power Battery Conference on September 1 in Yibin, Sichuan province, southwest China.
The electric aircraft sector is promising, with CATL successfully test-flying a 4-ton civil electric aircraft last year, Zeng said at the time.
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