In January, Spirit of Innovation became the world’s fastest 100% electric aircraft with the help of cork conglomerates from Amorim Cork Composites, in an already patented solution.
Supplied by Amorim Cork Composites, the group’s business unit led by Antonio Ríos de Amorim that develops products, solutions and applications for some of the world’s most advanced industries, Cork is used in the insulating coatings for the aircraft battery box, Cortesira reports in a statement this Tuesday.
In acknowledging this aircraft as the fastest, official verification of speeds of 387.4 miles per hour (mph; equivalent to 623 kilometers per hour) was reached during test flights in November 2021 by the Fédération Internationale de l’Aviation. With this, the statement says, the plane broke three world speed records, benefiting from a “longstanding partnership” between Rolls-Royce, a British car manufacturer, YASA, the British manufacturer of electric motors, and Electroflight, a specialist in British aerospace energy storage company, and a Corticeira customer. Amorim in this project.
Technically, Corticeira Amorim explains that “Electroflight designed the entire propulsion system (power generation) and an integrated battery system for the “Spirit of Innovation,” using three axial flow electric motors, a YASA 750 R, and more than 6,000 cylindrical cells, the Murata VTC6 18650 NCA.” To make all this happen, “the company, then, needed a battery case material that wasn’t It was not only structurally strong, but also lightweight and extremely fire-resistant”, which led to the selection of cork from the largest selection worldwide.
New projects on the agenda
“The battery case was a very challenging piece of engineering like the entire propulsion system (power generation) attached to the front of the aircraft. So the battery box does a very important job of not only providing containment in the event of a battery fire, but also keeping the front of the aircraft attached to the fuselage structure. In addition, we had to keep the weight to an absolute minimum and ensure that the product used in the battery case was highly fire-resistant,” he explains. Douglas Campbell, Technical Director of Electroflight, looks forward to continuing to work with the Portuguese group “to develop new technologies that will support the electrification and decarbonization of aviation”.
The unique patented invention already “has the added benefit of being made from sustainable, natural materials – a vital ingredient given the overall goal of the UK Government’s ACCEL project: to accelerate the decarbonization of aviation,” says Corticeira.about.:blank
Antonio Ríos de Amorim highlights “After COP26, which took place last November, the need for electricity has never been more evident, with aviation being a top priority”, which is “an honor to work with global companies such as Electroflight and Rolls-Royce to achieve more of progress on the path to decarbonizing aviation.”
“The fact that we have devised a new solution that can now help others on this path is very exciting. We expect more projects in this field advocating the use of cork, one of nature’s most sustainable products. 2021. With sales of €837.8 million.
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