Design and Development of Nano-electro Fuel Batteries and Rim-driven Motors for Electrified Aircraft Applications

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Convergent Aeronautics Solutions project seeks to determine feasibility of emerging technologies in aeronautics. The Aqueous, QUick-Charging Battery Integration For Electric flight Research study pursued the feasibility of nano-electro fuel and rim-driven motor technologies integrated together for aircraft implementation. Development of the NEF technology was in partnership with Influit Energy, LLC (Chicago, Illinois). A rim-driven motor, designed by the project team, sized to represent one of 24 motors in the propulsion system of the tandem electric super-short takeoff and landing aircraft is discussed. The development of this electric super-short takeoff and landing concept was in partnership with The Boeing Company (Chicago, Illinois). The integrated system design of the nano-electro fuel and rim-driven motor technologies within the wing section was in partnership with Empirical Systems Aerospace, Inc. (ESAero) (San Luis Obispo, California). The feasibility benchmark for the nano-electro fuel battery was to attain 100 mA/sq. cm within two years, a 50-fold increase over the demonstrated cell performance before the Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Aqueous, QUick-Charging Battery Integration For Electric flight Research activity. The team achieved 85 mA/sq. cm in the nano-electro fuel flow cell at the end of the two years. The Aqueous, QUick-Charging Battery Integration For Electric flight Research project team determined the technology to be both inflammable and nonexplosive (unless multiple, simultaneous system failures occur) which would provide a safer alternative to conventional lithium-ion based battery systems.