China Plans Electric Airliner Using New Battery Technology

China is charging ahead with an electric aircraft program and it may have a leg up on the competition because of an emerging battery design. Although they haven't come up with a production model, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., a huge EV battery maker, claims to have been working on a solid state battery that stores up to 500 Wh/kg. That's roughly twice the density of the best available batteries currently in production.

A joint venture between the battery developer, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and Shanghai Jiaotong University aims to harness all that power and perhaps develop a viable electric airliner. Of course all of these entities are controlled by the Chinese government and the initial budget for the research work is about $80 million. No timelines have been set.