Wright Electric Wins U.S. Air Force Contract to Develop Lightweight, High-Performance Batteries

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Wright ElectricAn American startup that has made major strides in electric aviation, including the development of ultralight batteries, motors and generators, has once again shown confidence, including financially, in the form of a new contract with the US Air Force to develop light and powerful rechargeable batteries.

Last week the company announced that it has a AFWERX Small Business Innovation Research Phase 1 contract, “which is designed to investigate the feasibility of using Wright's rechargeable thermal batteries in multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) where high power is critical.”

“We’ve heard from many aerospace and defense customers that they want compact batteries with extremely high power. Thanks to the Air Force’s support, we can take our first steps with a new program to deliver batteries that are extremely compact and capable of ultra-high discharge rates.” — Aaron Rowe, PhD, Engineering Manager, Batteries, Wright Electric

According to Wright ElectricRather than pursuing new battery chemistries, the company wants to “leverage additive manufacturing to rapidly produce small volumes of rechargeable batteries that can replace legacy thermal batteries.” This tactic will allow Wright to produce “limited production runs of exotic batteries at reasonable costs,” and should also help ensure “a resilient supply chain of critical defense components.”

This latest contract could also help speed up the FAA's approval process for its technologies, Wright CEO Jeff Engler told Aviation International News that “exploring options for its battery technology outside the civil aviation sector could improve the prospects of bringing it to market sooner than the FAA's approval process would allow.”