Re/cell, the North American battery re-manufacturer, announced the launch of its new lithium-ion ‘blocks’ architecture sourced from used Tesla electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
The company said its reused cells are designed to be deployed for heavy payload drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
There are three versions of the battery:
- Duration of 755Wh with 17Ah and continuous Amps of 54A, with 15 minutes @ 80% depth of discharge (DoD)
- duration of 1020Wh with 23Ah and continuous Amps of 72A, with 15 minutes @ 80% DoD
- duration of 2040Wh with 46Ah and continuous Amps of 144A, with 15 minutes @ 80% DoD
The batteries are all rated at 44.4V, the company stated.
The firm believes that the lithium-ion blocks are suited for use in the agricultural, aerial photography, surveying and mapping, cargo delivery, security and power inspection industries.
The block architecture will also have safety features bult on top, including an LED fuel gauge, current detection, and integrated crossflow cooling, the firm added.
A differing approach to drone technology and batteries can be seen in the on-going research into solid-state batteries.
This technology, by University of California San Diego and French technology institute CEA-Leti, stacks the battery in smaller units along an integrated circuit.
The researchers claim this allows for a much lighter battery, without the need for bulkier components.
Chad Maglaque, founder and president, re/cell, said: “There are literally billions of lithium-ion cells sitting inside existing Telsa battery packs that can be quickly and economically repurposed for the rapidly growing secondary battery market. The unique design and patent-pending recovery process of our extensible ‘block’ architecture allows us to easily manufacture high energy density battery blocks with capacities anywhere from 12-amp hours to 48-amp hours or more.”
