Quantum Leap in Battery Duration for Drones?

[Conservative Nihilist]

Yahoo News published an article today describing a major technological breakthrough in Electronic Vehicle battery design that has been accomplished by the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, whose innovative Lithium Air battery concept has TRIPLED the charge duration of Electronic Vehicle batteries from 200 watt-hours per kilo typical of current Lithium-ion battery design, to 657 watt-hours per kilo battery charge rating achieved with the ground-breaking Lithium Air battery concept.

Furthermore, the scientists who achieved this breakthrough have expressed a high level of confidence that a whopping 1,200 watt-hours per kilo battery rating will be well within the realm of possibility very soon. which of course equates to a SIX-FOLD increment in battery duration across the board in all realms of human technological endeavor INCLUDING drone technology, without question.

The coming EV batteries will sweep away fossil fuel transport, with or without net zero

For drone pilots and indeed the entire world, this revolutionary new development in battery tech is of monumental significance. In less than 5 years it is now safe to predict that commercial and hobby-grade drones will become available with batteries capable of sustaining flight for several HOURS, which will obviously call for drone motors to be redesigned in order to become capable of operating for such long duration flights without overheating. This development of Lithium-Air batteries is a MAJOR milestone for a human civilization that is bound to completely redefine the very basis upon which our planet utilizes and stores electrical power.

So there you have it, fellow armchair aviators, the long-awaited battery duration breakthrough HAS now been achieved. What a time to be alive. Big changes are inbound at this time, and the monumental impact of this evolutionary step in scientific advancement simply cannot be overstated.

 

[StantonZ]

If I had $1 for every "breakthrough" battery tech of the last 10 years...I wouldn't have had to pay for my drone!
Not saying the tech doesn't work, but as an EV owner (built on 20-year old tech)...the road to reliable, safe, mass production of battery tech is a long one.

 

[Godfactor]

Yahoo News published an article today describing a major technological breakthrough in Electronic Vehicle battery design that has been accomplished by the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, whose innovative Lithium Air battery concept has TRIPLED the charge duration of Electronic Vehicle batteries from 200 watt-hours per kilo typical of current Lithium-ion battery design, to 657 watt-hours per kilo battery charge rating achieved with the ground-breaking Lithium Air battery concept.

Furthermore, the scientists who achieved this breakthrough have expressed a high level of confidence that a whopping 1,200 watt-hours per kilo battery rating will be well within the realm of possibility very soon. which of course equates to a SIX-FOLD increment in battery duration across the board in all realms of human technological endeavor INCLUDING drone technology, without question.

The coming EV batteries will sweep away fossil fuel transport, with or without net zero

For drone pilots and indeed the entire world, this revolutionary new development in battery tech is of monumental significance. In less than 5 years it is now safe to predict that commercial and hobby-grade drones will become available with batteries capable of sustaining flight for several HOURS, which will obviously call for drone motors to be redesigned in order to become capable of operating for such long duration flights without overheating. This development of Lithium-Air batteries is a MAJOR milestone for a human civilization that is bound to completely redefine the very basis upon which our planet utilizes and stores electrical power.

So there you have it, fellow armchair aviators, the long-awaited battery duration breakthrough HAS now been achieved. What a time to be alive. Big changes are inbound at this time, and the monumental impact of this evolutionary step in scientific advancement simply cannot be overstated.

That's really awesome. I wonder how long it will take before they can be approved for market use.

 

[GFields]

If I had $1 for every "breakthrough" battery tech of the last 10 years...I wouldn't have had to pay for my drone!
Not saying the tech doesn't work, but as an EV owner (built on 20-year old tech)...the road to reliable, safe, mass production of battery tech is a long one.

Actually, if you had a dollar for every breakthrough, you would only have a dollar Now, if you had a dollar for each breakthrough, that might be different. Just had to kid with ya a bit.

 

[akdrone]

Check back in 10 years. I think I've been able to say that almost every year for the last 10 years regarding a new battery technology breakthrough. Creating something in the lab is one thing, mass producing it and bringing it to retail is apparently a bit more difficult as is evidenced by the complete lack of amazing breakthroughs in the last...forever years. We have alkaline, lithium and rechargeable batteries in our home devices with poly this and that for little incremental improvements and have been "promised" breakthroughs on a regular basis to no effect thus far. Someday there may be a breakthrough that makes it to the supermarket shelves and our drone batteries but don't wait breakfast on it.

 

[Kilrah]

HAS now been achieved

Been seeing such articles for 15+ years. Call me back when I can actually buy some, until then I'll continue taking it as worthless "let's find some gullible investors who'll give us money" pitch.

 

[Jake Fortune]

CATL, the largest Chinese lithium battery manufacturer in the world, obtained patent on sodium lithium batteries. That patent has yet to produce a single EV battery with the promised technology. There is a new "breakthrough" every week.

 

[anotherlab]

That wasn't the first group to announce higher energy densities with a lithium-air battery based on a lithium oxide (Li2O) formation. It will be interesting to see who can bring it to market first.

 

[jimlips]

Even if they had it available tomorrow, then we would have issues on how to dispose of them after their life was done. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see this claimed 3x battery life working. It would be great for automotive purposes. However, regarding drones, my Mavic Mini 3 Pro already has longer battery life than I need/use.

 

[anotherlab]

Even if they had it available tomorrow, then we would have issues on how to dispose of them after their life was done. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see this claimed 3x battery life working. It would be great for automotive purposes. However, regarding drones, my Mavic Mini 3 Pro already has longer battery life than I need/use.

We would have the same issues for disposal and recycling that we have with other Lithium-based batteries.

From the information posted in that article, the battery technology as having a 1000-cycle limit. I'm not 100% certain, but I think Tesla car batteries are rated for 1500 charge cycles. I would also like to see a faster charging time. Will it take 3x the time to fully charge because of the higher capacity?

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

whose innovative Lithium Air battery concept has TRIPLED the charge duration of Electronic Vehicle batteries from 200 watt-hours per kilo typical of current Lithium-ion battery design, to 657 watt-hours per kilo battery charge rating

Whether it comes to market in the near future or in a decade, it's always good to see such R&D.
Big risks if unsuccessful, and big rewards if successful.

Of course the implications are not just going to bring about huge gains in some drone markets, but for EVs, E-bikes, and many other things, marine / submarine capability, many avenues to put this to market.

What stands out too me and our drones, if our now sub 100whr safe for aircraft travel batteries are boosted to triple, or even 50% more capacity, I imagine travelling with these by commercial aircraft would be difficult to impossible.

Maybe smaller batteries there and weight reduction gains would be the answer, with similar wattages and flight times.

Of course for S&R type applications, some commercial survey / mapping / ag spraying work etc, where long flight times would be an enormous benefit, I wonder how many rec pilots really need this ?
Who can stand there flying now solid for half an hour concentration ?
Doing so for perhaps an hour to an hour and a half would be fairly demanding.

edit typo

 

[philztoy]

I saw the article too. Sounds great. Hope I live to see it.

Batteries have been the limitation for a long time. keeping my fingers crossed (and expectations low)

 

[anotherlab]

Whether it comes to market in the near future or in a decade, it's always good to see such R&D.
Big risks if unsuccessful, and big rewards if successful.

Of course the implications are not just going to bring about huge gains in some drone markets, but for EVs, E-bikes, and many other things, marine / submarine capability, many avenues to put this to market.

What stands out too me and our drones, if our now sub 100whr safe for aircraft travel batteries are boosted to triple, or even 50% more capacity, I imagine travelling with these by commercial aircraft would be difficult to impossible.

Maybe smaller batteries there and weight reduction gains would be the answer, with similar wattages and flight times.

Of course for S&R type applications, some commercial survey / mapping / ag spraying work etc, where long flight times would be an enormous benefit, I wonder how many rec pilots really need this ?
Who can stand there flying now solid for half an hour concentration ?
Doing so for perhaps an hour to an hour and a half would be fairly demanding.

edit typo

Instead of looking at this from the viewpoint of a battery of the current size with triple the capacity, look at it as a battery of 1/3 third the size with the existing capacity. When you are trying to keep a drone below 250g, that's a decent amount of weight to get rid of.

 

[3rdof5]

In less than 5 years it is now safe to predict that commercial and hobby-grade drones will become available with batteries capable of sustaining flight for several HOURS, which will obviously call for drone motors to be redesigned in order to become capable of operating for such long duration flights without overheating

This is the first time I have seen anyone mention flight motors overheating in prolonged flight. Is this really a known issue???

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Instead of looking at this from the viewpoint of a battery of the current size with triple the capacity, look at it as a battery of 1/3 third the size with the existing capacity. When you are trying to keep a drone below 250g, that's a decent amount of weight to get rid of.

Exactly, what I meant by . . .

Maybe smaller batteries there and weight reduction gains would be the answer, with similar wattages and flight times.

It could be a boon to less restrictive flight in some cases, safer OOP, etc.
If a battery could shed 1/3 weight and be the same as models now, it could see a drone like the mini 3 pro come in about 50 - 60g lighter, and be less than the weight of the current unit with smaller Japanese version battery (sub 200g).

 

[Kilrah]

This is the first time I have seen anyone mention flight motors overheating in prolonged flight. Is this really a known issue???

No. If they can run 5 minutes they can run 5 hours.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

No. If they can run 5 minutes they can run 5 hours.

In a previous life of compulsive frugality, before I discovered DJI drones, I used to fly cheap LOS toy quadcopters that cost the princely sum of $60, and whose motors typically wore out from overheating after an average of 50 flights. I was so determined to get my money's worth out of those styrofoam quadcopters that I bought a bunch of spare motors ready to solder in each time I heard that tell-tale chirping sound from the motor bearings that meant another motor had reached the end of its lifespan.

When I purchased my first Phantom 3 Standard, those cheap toy drones and all their spares were left to gather dust. Without question, DJI drone motors are engineered to last considerably longer than those of my old toy drones, but I would still be surprised if any DJI drone whose stock battery life is around 23 minutes, turned out to have been factory fitted with motors rated to operate continuously for one hour. Such over-engineering of the motors' heat tolerance would not be deemed worth the additional cost by DJI engineers.

 

[Kilrah]

I would still be surprised if any DJI drone whose stock battery life is around 23 minutes, turned out to have been factory fitted with motors rated to operate continuously for one hour. Such over-engineering of the motors' heat tolerance

That's not how it works. The motor will be at equilibrium temp within a minute or 2 at most and that's it, running longer it won't get any warmer unless you added more load or reduced cooling.

In a previous life of compulsive frugality, before I discovered DJI drones, I used to fly cheap LOS toy quadcopters that cost the princely sum of $60, and whose motors typically wore out from overheating after an average of 50 flights.

Because they were toys that used crappy brushed motors that were being way overloaded by design.

 

[ReaperNine]

Yahoo News published an article today describing a major technological breakthrough in Electronic Vehicle battery design that has been accomplished by the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, whose innovative Lithium Air battery concept has TRIPLED the charge duration of Electronic Vehicle batteries from 200 watt-hours per kilo typical of current Lithium-ion battery design, to 657 watt-hours per kilo battery charge rating achieved with the ground-breaking Lithium Air battery concept.

Furthermore, the scientists who achieved this breakthrough have expressed a high level of confidence that a whopping 1,200 watt-hours per kilo battery rating will be well within the realm of possibility very soon. which of course equates to a SIX-FOLD increment in battery duration across the board in all realms of human technological endeavor INCLUDING drone technology, without question.

The coming EV batteries will sweep away fossil fuel transport, with or without net zero

For drone pilots and indeed the entire world, this revolutionary new development in battery tech is of monumental significance. In less than 5 years it is now safe to predict that commercial and hobby-grade drones will become available with batteries capable of sustaining flight for several HOURS, which will obviously call for drone motors to be redesigned in order to become capable of operating for such long duration flights without overheating. This development of Lithium-Air batteries is a MAJOR milestone for a human civilization that is bound to completely redefine the very basis upon which our planet utilizes and stores electrical power.

So there you have it, fellow armchair aviators, the long-awaited battery duration breakthrough HAS now been achieved. What a time to be alive. Big changes are inbound at this time, and the monumental impact of this evolutionary step in scientific advancement simply cannot be overstated

Yahoo News published an article today describing a major technological breakthrough in Electronic Vehicle battery design that has been accomplished by the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, whose innovative Lithium Air battery concept has TRIPLED the charge duration of Electronic Vehicle batteries from 200 watt-hours per kilo typical of current Lithium-ion battery design, to 657 watt-hours per kilo battery charge rating achieved with the ground-breaking Lithium Air battery concept.

Furthermore, the scientists who achieved this breakthrough have expressed a high level of confidence that a whopping 1,200 watt-hours per kilo battery rating will be well within the realm of possibility very soon. which of course equates to a SIX-FOLD increment in battery duration across the board in all realms of human technological endeavor INCLUDING drone technology, without question.

The coming EV batteries will sweep away fossil fuel transport, with or without net zero

For drone pilots and indeed the entire world, this revolutionary new development in battery tech is of monumental significance. In less than 5 years it is now safe to predict that commercial and hobby-grade drones will become available with batteries capable of sustaining flight for several HOURS, which will obviously call for drone motors to be redesigned in order to become capable of operating for such long duration flights without overheating. This development of Lithium-Air batteries is a MAJOR milestone for a human civilization that is bound to completely redefine the very basis upon which our planet utilizes and stores electrical power.

So there you have it, fellow armchair aviators, the long-awaited battery duration breakthrough HAS now been achieved. What a time to be alive. Big changes are inbound at this time, and the monumental impact of this evolutionary step in scientific advancement simply cannot be overstated.

FFC here in the US also announced integrating drones the capability to operate from 5G cell towers!

 

[Eagle928]

Until a new design is proven to be fire-safe, affordable, long-lasting (20 years), and able to charge in 10 minutes to 80%, we cannot transition to EV's. Small incremental improvements are always welcome and of course an hour flight time on the same size batteries we now use in drones would be very welcome. So would a 1000 charge cycle. Seems like these days the batteries become obsolete before the life of the drone.