Batteries for flying cars

Lightweight batteries: the major challenge for eVTOLs

The idea of ​​taking off from your home garage in an all-electric flying car, crossing the city in minutes, and recharging the battery before even finishing a cup of coffee has been gaining momentum. For years, however, this concept faced a seemingly insurmountable obstacle: energy storage. Now, a partnership between SES AI and Doroni Aerospace promises to change that landscape by utilizing a new generation of lithium-metal batteries developed specifically for electric aircraft.

While current lithium-ion batteries work well for automobiles, they still represent a significant compromise between weight, range, and safety when applied to aviation. This is precisely where lithium metal comes into play; by replacing the graphite anode with lithium metal, these cells can store far more energy for the same weight. SES claims to be developing batteries with an energy density approaching 400 Wh/kg—a major leap toward making longer electric flights viable.

To accelerate this development, the company uses an artificial intelligence platform called Molecular Universe, capable of simulating thousands of chemical combinations to identify more stable and efficient materials; however, increasing energy capacity is not enough. Safety is the absolute priority for aircraft, so the new cells undergo extreme testing—including puncture, overcharge, and short-circuit tests—and each battery will be continuously monitored by an intelligent system that tracks its health in real time and identifies potential failures before they even become problems.

All this technology will be integrated into the Dorony H1-X, a two-seat eVTOL designed to reach speeds of around 190 km/h, offer a range of approximately 160 km, and recharge in about 25 minutes. The expectation is that the first prototypes equipped with these batteries will advance to the next stages of testing over the coming years.