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Rolls-Royce To Pioneer Development of Aviation Energy Storage Technology

Arun Sivasankaran - : Jun 18, 2021 - : 10:41 am

Rolls-Royce will work on developing energy storage systems (ESS) that will enable aircraft to undertake zero emissions flights of over 100 miles on a single charge.

The company is planning to invest  £80m in ESS over the next decade, and will create around 300 jobs by 2030. Aerospace-certified ESS solutions from Rolls-Royce will power electric and hybrid-electric propulsion systems for eVTOLs (electric vertical takeoff and landing) in the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market and fixed-wing aircraft, with up to 19 seats, in the commuter market.

By 2035, Rolls-Royce is planning to integrate more than 5 million battery cells per annum into modular systems. These modules will deliver market-leading energy density levels.

“This multi-million-pound investment by Rolls-Royce over the next decade is another demonstration of our ambitions in electrification,” said Rob Watson, Director of Electrical, Rolls-Royce. “We are developing a portfolio of energy storage solutions to complement our electrical propulsion systems. This will ensure that we can offer our customers a complete electric propulsion system for their platform, whether that is an eVTOL or a commuter aircraft. It will enable us to be a ‘one-stop shop’ for all-electric or hybrid-electric propulsion systems, which is incredibly exciting as these new markets develop and expand.”

Rolls-Royce has so far designed 10 different aerospace battery systems, using state-of-the-art cell technology. Of these batteries, four designs have already flown in three aircraft, accumulating more than 250 hours of flight experience and another two designs will complete their first flight in aircraft in 2021. This includes a battery developed with Electroflight, the company’s UK manufacturing partner in the ACCEL programme.

Rolls-Royce and airframer Tecnam are currently working with Widerøe – the largest regional airline in Scandinavia – to deliver an all-electric passenger aircraft for the commuter market, which is planned to be ready for revenue service in 2026. Rolls-Royce will deliver the entire electrical propulsion system including an energy storage system for the new P-VOLT aircraft.

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