Aircraft Batteries

by Drew
(Seattle)

Airplanes Need Batteries, Too!

Aircraft batteries in the electric car would be more expensive, but how much more - and would it be worth it?
I would think that would be where the best technology would go first, and they are mass produced and are made to start huge turbines.

Hi, Drew -
Ah, the temptations of the Boeing Surplus lot on the south end of Seattle. Believe me, I'm not immune either; )
Sorry, but you already found the problem yourself in your last sentence..."made to start huge turbines." Aircraft batteries are high-power batteries (lots of cranking amps) designed for starting those turbines, not the high-energy batteries (lots of amp-hours) needed to run your electric car. Typically, these aircraft batteries deliver 350 cranking amps or so, and about 30 amp-hours.

Your EV needs:

• deep-cycle batteries, which have the ability to be drained down to 20%SOC (state of charge) and charged back up again and again;


• batteries that are forgiving of high rates of amp-withdrawal;


• batteries that don't mind being bounced around;


• batteries that are reasonably lightweight;


• batteries that are reasonably cheap.