SYLMAR, CALIFORNIA (BNO NEWS) – Quallion LLC announced on Tuesday the successful development of the fastest lithium-ion battery that powered the Boeing X-51A WaveRider for nearly three and a half minutes on in May.

The Boeing X-51A WaveRider completed the longest supersonic combustion ramjet-powered flight in history traveling at top speed of Mach 5 on its first flight attempt. For this demonstration, Quallion developed an advanced lithium-ion system to power many components of the unmanned aircraft.

The company chose a rechargeable lithium-ion chemistry over the traditional silver-zinc and thermal battery solutions to reduce ground maintenance before launch. This allowed testing of the system without having to replace the battery.

Quallion developed a high energy density and high discharge rate pouch cell, which was the basis for three separate battery packs enclosed in one envelope on the Boeing X-51A. The cell design had to be robust enough to handle three different performance requirements without surpassing the weight goals.

“Being able to design the proper lithium-ion cell to meet the unique envelope, weight and performance requirements of the X-51A program was the key to meeting the mission requirements and providing the X-51A power,” says CEO & CTO Dr. Hisashi Tsukamoto.

The lithium-ion cell was designed for high discharge power capabilities with high safety characteristics. In addition, Quallion used innovative battery packaging designs to reduce the overall loads and stress on the battery due to the unique conditions of traveling at speeds greater than Mach 5.

Quallion is a company specialized in developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art primary lithium and secondary lithium ion batteries for the military, aerospace, medical, and automotive industries.

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