Battery Performance Metrics for Large Electric Passenger Aircraft

Most literature suggests that a battery specific energy of at least 500 to 1000 Wh/kg at pack level is required for battery-electric aircraft to become feasible for commercial passenger transport in the CS-25/Part 25 space. However, recent aircraft design studies have shown that such aircraft can already present attractive payloadrange capabilities with substantially less aggressive battery technology scenarios. In this paper, we assess what the battery performance metrics should be for such aircraft, and how they compare to those of urban-air mobility aircraft and ground-based electric vehicles. We discuss how with a 360 Wh/kg pack specific energy and a 1.2C charge / 1.2C discharge rate capability, a battery-electric range of 800 km is feasible. An analysis of the battery volumes required to sustain a fleet of large electric aircraft shows that, in a scenario where large electric aircraft replace 10% of all flights below 800 km range by 2050, 50 GWh/year of battery production is required. For a limit-case scenario where they replace 100% of all flights below 1000 km by 2050, a production volume of 840 GWh/year is required. This implies that, if large electric aircraft are to play a key role in decarbonization of the aviation sector, the market for aviation cell production, packaging, and recycling will be substantial.