Batteries

Super reliable electric motors enormously outperform internal combustion engines. Motors with 94% efficiency, producing 300 HP and weighing only 70 lbs. are now available. Batteries, though, are another story.

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As great as they are, first-generation batteries aren't practical for most aviation needs. Yes, they are used in trainers and specialty applications, but their energy density, expressed in Watt hours per kilogram (Wh/kg), has not been up to the task. The automobile market has been focused on lower cost and faster recharge rates, with great improvements in both areas in the last two years, but aircraft require a lightweight battery solution.

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Second-generation batteries are coming onto the market with significant improvement. Rather than batteries rolled up like jelly rolls in cylinders, they are packed Z folded, like pleated shades formed into pouches in a box. Without all the space around the cylinders, they have greater energy density.

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Improvements in chemistry, particularly for the cathodes and anodes, promise to double the energy density.

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Within a few years (some think sooner), third-generation batteries will double the energy density again with solid-state chemistry, be fire resistant, provide even faster charge times, and greatly extend the battery's service life.