CATL reigns supreme with its batteries in electric vehicles. Now they are targeting aircraft with an autonomy of up to 3000 km.

CATL is unhappy with being the world’s main manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries. The Chinese giant also wants to be present in the world of aviation. And while the country still has a long way to go, it has just set a goal that is as ambitious as it is promising.

The company’s founder, Zeng Yuqun, said at the Summer Davos taking place these days in China that they hope to develop a battery for a civil aircraft weighing about eight tons. It could be ready by 2027 or 2028 and could have a range of 2,000 to 3,000 kilometers.

Rising popularity of electric aircraft

CATL says it has successfully tested its batteries on a civil aircraft four tons, so the project has a good basis for development. While details are scarce, we do know that it has been working with the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) for some time.

It is also known that a key part of the project is a next-generation “condensed battery.” We previously talked about this CATL solution, which promises an energy density of 500 Wh/kg, which is higher than the 200 Wh/kg we can find in its current lithium-ion solutions.

The announcement leaves some open questions that will likely be answered over time. We don’t know what weight of the plane you are talking about (empty, with payload, etc.) and it’s also not clear how many cells will be installed on an experimental aircraft and how much the entire battery will ultimately weigh.

Regardless, the Ningde-based company’s message is clear: they want to expand beyond the electric vehicle market, a market that feeds their products to giants like Tesla, Volkswagen and Toyota. Will CATL dominate the future electric aircraft market? In time we will find out.

Images | CATL

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