BAE Systems and Jaunt Air Mobility say they will explore the development of electric energy management systems.
BAE Systems is collaborating with Jaunt Air Mobility to explore the development of electric energy management systems for urban air mobility vehicles through a memorandum of understanding (MOU).
“During this collaboration, both companies will investigate product development for the future of aircraft electrification. The companies will also work together to examine aircraft power management needs and gain a deeper understanding of the extension of urban traffic into the airspace.”
“The collaboration with Jaunt Air Mobility leverages the strengths of two industry-leading companies to develop technology for a new ecosystem,” said Ehtisham Siddiqui, vice president and general manager of Controls and Avionics Solutions at BAE Systems.
“This strategic collaboration builds on our two decades of heritage as we develop and certify controls and energy management systems for the future of flight.”
“BAE Systems’ development and integration expertise in high integrity controls and power management systems gives our business an edge in the development of next generation air vehicles for urban environments,” said Kaydon Stanzione, chief executive officer at Jaunt Air Mobility.
“Their proven track record from concept design through manufacturing was a major selection consideration for our business as we strive to provide the highest level of safety and efficiency for our aircraft.”
We were all supposed to be or predicted to be flying around in hover cars and jet packs these days, what happened!
Read that to Cam. George Jetson decided invest in social media instead.
Yeah! And snowflakes probably prefer that!
An MOU. Don’t hold your breath then. I think loads of new tech is needed before any of this is viable.
Li Ion batteries have little more than 1% of the energy density (by mass) of kerosene.
I would therefore suggest that this Energy Management is all about infrastructure and “hopping” from rooftop to rooftop.
Love to know more though 🙂
Thanks Simon, that makes sense. When we get these hyperbolic quotes I both glaze out and more often than not have to skim over a couple times to get the gist of what they’re actually saying. These things have to start somewhere so if someone is doing the research then it might come to something eventually. I mind of people moaning about the initial cost of lots of things before the eventually became common place. I can’t wait for my personal lecky powered wocka wocka (won’t be able to call them paraffin parrots by then) that I can plug in… Read more »
It seems one particular development in successful use of ceramic anodes promises substantial increases in energy density in Li Ion batteries with a resulting transformation in safety with corresponding potential for quick charge capabilities as a result. Mind you still a long way to go but considering all the development work now being done I can see serious potential for improvement within 10 years. Mind you if the present 1% you suggest is in any way an accurate direct comparison they will need to squeeze out all the improvements they can to make flight seriously practical methinks and competitive to… Read more »
I would imagine there are other technologies too. The thing about Li Ion batteries is that the mobile phone industry has made them relatively cheap. I hate to think how expensive they would be if they were only used on drones/aircraft.
I think the automotive industry is the only way these new technologies can gain enough traction to become cost effective. But only if we all start to adopt a slower car with less range (albeit greener and quieter) 🙂
I was rather surprised when I looked it up too. It made me wonder how on Earth Elon Musk (Tesla) is going to build an electric copter.
I can only presume the plan may be to use a fuel cell of some description.
The first elec copter to fly flew for 5 mins and 50% of its mass was LiPo batteries. Not exactly efficient. Fuel tends to burn away leaving the aircraft lighter as it flies further. Leading to cruise-climb and Breguet range, etc.
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-cheap-new-kind-of-aluminium-battery-could-be-the-green-energy-storage-solution-we-need
Been posted here before but promising nonetheless.
Invented by an ex RN engineer and promises to not only be a minimum of 9 times energy dense as Li-ion battery, but also environmentally friendly. It also promises to be much safer than a hydrogen fuel cell. It doesn’t operate like a normal battery, but more like a fuel cell, as you can’t recharge it in the normal sense. It requires the electrolyte and aluminium plates to be re-cycled.
If I remember correctly he sorted the aluminium alloy needed so that he could use recycled coke/tin cans to boot!
Yep, the eureka moment was the electrolyte. A bit off-putting watching him drink it though!