Drones Will Fly 70 Percent Longer With This Kind Of Batteries

If Cuberg has to say something about its new batteries, that is the initiative has brought a revolution for flights and drones. The startup company with the support from the United State Department of Energy, venture capitalists, and Boeing has posted a video clip of a new type of lithium metal battery placed in a quadcopter which flew 70% longer than a quadcopter powered by an old-school lithium-ion battery.

The batteries by Cuberg feature a new and non-flammable electrolyte which eliminates the risks of safety in link with other popular lithium-ion batteries. The company wants to contribute to the flying future and states that batteries using lithium ion are not ready for the task. They are too heavy, and vulnerable to fast degradation, as well as show unideal performance.

Lithium-ion batteries could meet the need for small hobby drones; however, they aren't suitable for larger flying objects such as electric planes, cargo drones, or Uber Elevate.

Considering the disadvantages of batteries using lithium-ion, the most prominent one is that it is easy to catch fire, especially when flammable electrolyte does not vent gasses which react to the cathode.

The reaction probably causes fire, runaway heating, and explosions. The company states that the new electrolyte is thermally stable. Even when the other materials in the vehicle are overheating, the battery is still stable and offers more energy density and safety. The electrolyte can be also applied to manufacture lithium-ion batteries.

To meet the demand of current flight industry, the new type of battery not only needs to be good but also must optimize its performance to take a position in the saturated market with too many built-up infrastructures. That means the business value of this battery must be similar to the scientific one.

Should alternative flight sector continue to grow, there will be a high demand for a safer and lighter battery. However, it will not mean the lithium-ion battery’s end. It will still be used in light-weight devices. The company was established on the research which was completed by the founders when they finished researches at Standford.

Uber Wants To Develop Flying Taxis In A Decade

In just 3 years, Uber has exponentially developed and recently, they have been awarded US$1.57 mil in grants in April 2019 from California Energy Commission to scale up its production. It is known that the flying taxi industry has huge potential.

At the beginning of 2018, the CEO of Uber stated that Uber Elevate - the drone taxi service calls - could be launched in the next 5-10 years. Uber will start to test 4-passenger, 200mph UberAir drone taxi services throughout Los Angeles by 2020. However, there are some regulatory and technological roadblocks in the way. Safer and lighter batteries could be a useful technology factor.