Presentation

Energy storage and conversion technologies are enabling for commercial deployment of all-electric urban air mobility (UAM) aircraft with desired range and performance.  Although battery will remain as the preferred energy storage device for UAM vehicles, alternate energy storage and conversion technologies are currently being explored for the UAM market segment.  The presentation will review the battery requirements for various UAM missions and compare the requirements against the current state-of-the-art and developmental batteries.  The battery technology gap for UAM vehicles will be highlighted along with proposed technology development pathway for meeting UAM needs.   Battery technology challenges related to safety and sustainability will be addressed.  The potential for alternate energy conversion and storage technologies such as fuel cells, supercapacitors, hybrid battery-supercapacitors, and flow batteries will be discussed.