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Battery and Power Technology Update
The word solid-state now covers three different cells, and the one you can actually buy for an industrial aircraft in 2026 is usually a semi-solid cell — a lithium-ion architecture that keeps roughly 5 to 10 per cent liquid electrolyte.
Overview
- Published energy densities in 2026: semi-solid cells marketed at roughly 350–400 Wh/kg, with some vendors listing 450–500 Wh/kg SKUs. Conventional LiPo packs sit near 140–200+ Wh/kg; Li-ion near 230–260 Wh/kg at cell level and 180–210 Wh/kg at pack level.
- Lithium-metal quasi-solid cells reached a first commercial drone order in July 2026; a customer flight test reported more than 30 per cent longer range. Claimed all-solid-state cells were still at demonstrator stage with a production ramp targeted for the second half of 2026.
- A Wh/kg headline means nothing without the C-rate, the temperature, and the cycle life attached to it. Ask for the same three numbers on the pack you fly today and on the proposed pack.
- The anode is not fixed by the label. Semi-solid packs may use silicon-carbon or other anodes, which changes cycle life and discharge behaviour — ask which one is in the quote.
Ranges collected 9 October 2026 from public vendor and industry sources. They are vendor-declared, not independently measured, and not Montline data. Compare only at equal C-rate, temperature and cycle definition.
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