CATL's Electric Aircraft Update
TapTechNews June 25. According to the China Daily, at the 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum on June 25, Zeng Yuqun, the chairman of CATL, revealed the flight range information of the company's electric aircraft for the first time.
Zeng Yuqun said that CATL has successfully test-flown a 4-ton civil electric aircraft and is actively investing and accelerating the research and development of the 8-ton level. The 8-ton aircraft is expected to be released in 2027 to 2028 and can support a flight range of about 1243 to 1864 miles at that time.
It is reported that the battery used in this project is the most cutting-edge battery technology under CATL - the condensed state battery. The energy density per unit of this battery is as high as 500 Wh/kg. This not only means a doubling compared to the current 250 Wh/kg level in the field of electric vehicle power batteries, but also means that it meets the energy density requirements of regional passenger aircraft, making electrification possible for aviation uses with a flight range of 600-1200 kilometers.
Zeng Yuqun also revealed that the company is developing a new generation of sodium-ion batteries, which is expected to have better performance in terms of cost, lifespan and low temperature performance, and will be launched as soon as next year. If the technology is used as an evaluation system (scoring from 1 to 10), the sodium-ion battery project of CATL is already at a level of 7.
TapTechNews noted that on May 22, at the BEYOND International Technology Innovation Expo held in Macau, Zeng Yuqun said that in the field of electric aircraft, CATL is in the process of cooperative development, We need to start from small aircraft, from 1-ton aircraft to 8.8-ton aircraft. Currently, we have already test-flown a 4-ton aircraft. To reach the commercial level, aircraft of more than 8 tons are needed, so we still need to continue to work hard to promote, and it is expected that applications can be launched in 2027 and 2028.