Startup Aims to Simplify Electric Aircraft Battery Maintenance

A California-based startup is aiming to build a subscription service for electric aircraft batteries that will include maintenance, replacement and recycling.

Mobius Energy, which will begin delivering its own electric-propulsion battery modules in October, is working with electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) customers to create a product that allows easy removal and replacement of the entire battery pack. According to JP Park, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Mobius Energy, being able to easily remove battery packs from aircraft will provide benefits for operations and maintenance.

“When considering the maintenance of the battery packs, they can be removed from the aircraft and stored in a dedicated area, away from the aircraft,” says Park. “This will increase safety for all those concerned with aircraft operations and increase security for the aircraft, as without a battery pack fitted, they cannot be stolen.”

Park adds that when it comes to maintenance on the aircraft itself, “the battery pack can be removed and the aircraft [can be] worked on in a hangar with people who are not qualified on the battery pack, but are aircraft maintainers,” says Park, noting that this will reduce training burden for operators. To simplify this further, Mobius plans to offer virtual training on battery swapping and maintenance to technicians working for electric aircraft operators.

Mobius also plans to manufacture and sell a mobile charging platform for electric aircraft batteries created from repurposed batteries that have been retired from their first life. For more on Mobius Energy's battery recycling plans, the technical specs of its battery module and its eVTOL partnerships, read the original article from Aviation Week’s Advanced Air Mobility coverage.