Hi all,
At Iridium Dynamics we've been working on a long-endurance fixed-wing / rotary-wing hybrid aircraft called Halo. Long story short: we found there is very little choice of high energy-density batteries available for long endurance electric planes (1-5 hour flight times, so requiring an average of 1C down to 0.2C, or a peak of around 3C down to about 1C). Most batteries have much higher power densities at the cost of lower energy density. So we have built a series of batteries ourselves.
We're testing our first prototypes at the moment, but we expect there may be interest in the wider UAV community. The specs are available on our website: https://iridiumdynamics.com/product/batteries/
The major features are:
- 240 Wh/kg energy density (including the hard-case);
- Built-in cell balancing, and cell health monitoring;
- Real-time voltage, current and cell-temperature data output (digital data direct to Autopilot over CAN);
- Plug-in detect (high impedance connection until plugged-in, avoids sparks and connector corrosion);
- The first sizes include 151 Wh in 3S or 6S, which are very close to the maximum carry-on limit of 160 Wh;
- Pricing to be competitive with higher-end RC battery manufacturers, such as Thunderpower.
While is has a custom connector, we are manufacturing break-out boards
If you have any interest in these batteries, please reply with your feedback. We're particularly interested in:
- What sizes you'd be interested in (listed on the website, or other sizes);
- Any features you would like which haven't been listed;
- If you would be interested in joining a testing program, or reviewing the batteries.
Look forward to hearing your feedback!
Cheers,
Ian
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