Under the Space Act Agreement, NASA and air taxi startup Archer Aviation will collaborate on a series of projects focused on boosting high performance battery cells and safety testing for advanced air mobility (AAM) and space applications.
NASA will test Archer’s battery cell and system design and then share the results with the AAM industry. The collaboration will be in anticipation of enabling the mass production of mature battery technology for the adoption of electric aviation vehicles.
Archer plans to develop a battery pack with high levels of safety for its Midnight electric air taxi, which will begin testing in 2024, the company said last year. It also revealed recently that Stellantis entered into an agreement to help build its Midnight air taxis at its manufacturing facility in Covington, Georgia.
The validation of the battery cells by NASA will suit aerospace applications like:
- Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL)
- Electric conventional takeoff and landing (eCTOL) aircraft
- Potentially space aircraft
Under the agreement, the tests will be performed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), a high-speed X-ray facility. This will determine how the cells function during extreme abuse cases.
