SOLiTHOR and Sonaca sign new memorandum of understanding to advance the electrification of regional aircraft and urban air mobility

The Belgian solid-state Lithium battery technology company, SOLiTHOR and the leading aerospace company, Sonaca, have signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding to go into partnership where they will jointly develop safe, high-density rechargeable solid-state Lithium battery systems for Regional Aircraft and Urban Air Mobility. This partnership will also expand to Satellite systems as well as Defence systems.

This alliance will divide key activities in the research, development, production and integration of cells and battery systems designed for powering aircraft. SOLiTHOR will be responsible for cell research, development, testing characterisation, format design and production of 10Ah-40Ah cell as it forges ahead. Sonaca will develop the battery packaging including all related management systems. It will also certify the battery system.

The cells will be produced and manufactured by SOLiTHOR in Sint-Truiden, Flanders, Belgium and the integration of the aircraft battery systems will take place at Sonaca's plant in Charleroi, Wallonia, Belgium.

Sonaca has set itself the ambitious goal of proactively contributing to the development of a low-carbon aircraft by 2035 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. That is why in order to achieve such ambitious goals the demand is for the industry to produce low noise and energy efficiencies in the powering of aircraft.

This would allow the industry to make more effective use of smaller regional airports and go some way to address their under-utilisation across the world - especially in the USA and Europe.

SOLiTHOR and Sonaca believe that their complementary capabilities will provide the greatest advancements in solid-state Lithium battery systems technologies for all regional aircraft and urban air mobility applications.