CATL says its eVTOL battery system is ready for series production

Chinese battery maker CATL says it has finished safety testing on a battery system built for passenger electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. The company calls it the world's first aviation battery solution using prismatic cells with an energy density of 350 watt-hours per kilogram to pass tests for thermal runaway and thermal propagation.

In the tests, several adjacent cells were deliberately overheated at the same time. CATL said the resulting thermal reaction did not spread to neighboring cells. That is a core safety benchmark for aviation battery systems, since fire propagation poses a significant risk in the air.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China oversaw production, inspection and testing of the battery system, according to CATL. The company now considers the system ready for series production.

The battery is expected to appear first in passenger eVTOL aircraft built by AutoFlight, a Chinese manufacturer developing electric air taxi designs. CATL gave no timeline for when aircraft equipped with the system might enter commercial service.

CATL is one of the world's largest makers of lithium-ion batteries, known mainly for supplying the electric vehicle industry. Its push into aviation batteries reflects broader interest among battery and aircraft manufacturers in electric air mobility. Even so, such aircraft still face significant regulatory and certification hurdles before they can carry passengers in most markets.