The Influence of Vehicle Mass and Cell Type on eVTOL Battery Pack Designs

In this work, we take a systematic look at the battery pack design challenge for eVTOL applications. Based on a prior industry survey, three eVTOL vehicle designs were identified for the study. Three different cell candidates were taken from the traditional automotive battery supply chain. The three eVTOL vehicles had masses respectively of 1000 kg, 2500 kg, and 3000 kg, representing 2-seaters, 4-seaters, and 5-seaters. The three cells investigated were respectively a large-sized pouch cell, a medium-sized pouch cell and a cylindrical cell. The findings and key takeaways from this study are summarized as follows. It is important to select the right cell for a particular application, based on the vehicle mass and desired cruise range. Higher specific energy is not always the right answer. A key to achieving longer cruise range, is to reduce cruise power as much as possible. This is far more effective than trying to reduce the hover power by the same percentage.