Model-Based Analysis of Lithium-Ion Battery Technology Predictions in Light-Sport Aircraft

A flight performance model was used to analyze the range capability of fully electric and hybrid-electric aircraft powertrains to determine their implementation feasibility compared to a similarly sized traditionally powered reference aircraft. Range was calculated for a given mission using future Lithium-Ion battery technology predictions from the year 2030. To the authors’ knowledge, there are no known studies which attempt to predict future range capabilities of electrified aircraft using future battery technology predictions in this manner. Results showed that fully electric powertrains could achieve ranges of up to 30% of the selected reference aircraft range, while hybrid electric cases could achieve ranges of between 30% and 73% depending on the fuel volume and the energy distribution strategy. Fuel volume was found to be a major contributor to the overall range, due to its high energy density, which tends to dominate the battery capacities used in this study. Thus, hybrid electric results were also analyzed at one selected fuel volume to identify trends in other parameters. It was found that the range of hybrid electric powertrains could be improved by up to 3.3% utilizing the optimal degree of hybridization, and up to 37% utilizing the optimal energy distribution strategy, compared to the range of the baseline hybrid energy distribution method. These results suggest that battery capacity improvement and optimal energy distribution strategy development are key to improving the feasibility of implementing electrified light-sport aircraft into the aviation industry over the next ten years.