Engines
U.S. Air Force Backs Wright's Work On Rechargeable Thermal Batteries
New batteries could be used for multi-role military uncrewed air vehicles
Wright Electric's rotor for its 2.5 MW electric motor
Wright Electric has built the rotor for its planned 2.5 megawatt electric motor, and plans to complete assembly this summer before starting ground testing.

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Wright Electric a contract to develop high-power output rechargeable batteries. Under the Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research contract announced on August 7, the New York-based start-up will explore options for using its new thermal batteries to power multi-rotor uncrewed air vehicles.

The support from the Air Force’s Afwerx research and technology unit follows funding for related work from the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E Propel-1K program to develop lightweight batteries for transportation applications. If the Afwerx project progresses to Phase 2, the Wright team would then focus on testing and evaluation of its batteries.