Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • +44 (0)20 7454 5110
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
Return to PR Newswire homepage
  • News
  • Products
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All Public Company News
      • All Multimedia News
      • View All News Releases

      • Regulatory News

      • D/A/CH Regulatory News
      • UK Regulatory News
      • View All Regulatory News

  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads & Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking & Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film & Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers & Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalisation
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls & Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil & Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defence
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking & Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers & Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines & Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics & Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture & Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewellery
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film & Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks & Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels & Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Animal Welfare
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Economic News, Trends & Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • Labour & Union
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Public Safety
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Overview
  • Distribution
  • Paid Placement
  • Multimedia
  • Disclosure Services
  • SocialBoost
  • Rooms
    • MediaRoom
    • ESG Rooms
  • AI Tools
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships
  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PR Newswire UK provides press release distribution, targeting, monitoring, and marketing services
  • Send a Release
    • Phone

    • +44 (0)20 7454 5110 from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT

    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us

      +44 (0)20 7454 5110
      from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT

  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • News in Focus
    • Browse News Releases
    • Regulatory News
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
    • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Overview
  • Distribution
  • Paid Placement
  • Multimedia
  • Disclosure Services
  • Cision Communications Cloud®
  • AI Tools
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists

Powered by Kokam's Ultra High Energy NMC Batteries, Solar Impulse 2 Completes First Flight Around the World by a Zero-Fuel Solar Airplane


News provided by

Kokam

17 Aug, 2016, 10:00 GMT

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

Lithium-ion batteries' high energy density and efficiency reduce the size and weight of the battery packs in the Solar Impulse 2, helping it store more solar power during the day for use at night

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Kokam Co., Ltd, the world's premier provider of innovative battery solutions, today announced that the Solar Impulse 2 used batteries based on its advanced Ultra High Energy Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) Oxide (Ultra High Energy NMC) battery technology to power the zero-fuel solar airplane's record-breaking flight around the world. On July 26 the Solar Impulse completed the final leg of this trip, taking off from Cairo, Egypt and landing 48 hours later in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The Solar Impulse uses four 38.5 kilowatt hour (kWh) Kokam Ultra High Energy NMC battery packs with 150 Ah cells, totaling 154 kWh of energy storage. Over the course of 17 flights totaling 26,744 miles (43,041 kilometers), the Solar Impulse 2's 17,248 solar cells produced 11,000 kWh of electricity, much of which was stored in its Kokam Ultra High Energy NMC batteries and then discharged to power the plane at night.

Advanced Battery Technology for an Aviation Pioneer

Kokam's Ultra High Energy NMC batteries feature an energy density of approximately 260 watts hours per kilogram (Wh/kg). This high energy density enables the Solar Impulse 2 to store more energy without increasing the plane's weight or size. In addition, Kokam's Ultra High Energy NMC batteries have a 96 percent efficiency, meaning less energy is wasted when the batteries charge or discharge.

Kokam's NMC battery technology's high energy density and efficiency, along with its ability to operate over a wide range of temperature, humidity and pressure conditions, led the Solar Impulse team to select Kokam's NMC battery technology for both the first prototype, the Solar Impulse 1, which was the first zero-fuel solar airplane to fly between continents and across the continental United States, and the current and second prototype, the Solar Impulse 2, which is the first zero-fuel solar airplane to circumnavigate the globe.

"We had to find and use the most advanced solar, material and battery technologies available on the market at the time of the design to build a plane capable of flying around the world using only the power of the sun," said André Borschberg, co-founder, CEO and pilot of Solar Impulse. "What was critical was to get the lightest and most energy efficient solution, and we consequently selected Kokam's Ultra High Energy NMC batteries, which has been our battery solution since the first flight of Solar Impulse 1 in December 2009 until the final leg landing of Solar Impulse 2 in Abu Dhabi in July 2016."

"The Solar Impulse team and Kokam share a common vision -- to create a world powered by non-polluting renewable energy," said Ike Hong, vice president of Kokam's Power Solutions Division. "By choosing to use our advanced Ultra High Energy NMC battery technology, the Solar Impulse validates Kokam's belief that, by continually working to develop more powerful, efficient and cost-effective battery technologies, Kokam can play an important role in accelerating the transition to a clean, electrified global economy."

Kokam's Aviation Experience

In April, Kokam introduced a variety of new high energy battery solutions based on its advanced Ultra High Energy NMC battery technology for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and other unmanned systems. In addition, dozens of customers around the world currently use Kokam's advanced battery solutions for UAV, electric plane and other aviation applications, including industry leaders Airbus, Trimble, ECA Group and FT Sistemas.

An Upgraded Solar Impulse Energy Storage System

During the most challenging leg of the Solar Impulse 2's flight around the world – the 5-day and night record breaking flight from Nagoya, Japan to Hawaii – the Solar Impulse 2's battery temperature increased due to a different flight profile than the one planned and the over-insulation of the gondolas (engine housings) in relation to the outside temperature. As a result, the Solar Impulse 2's Ultra High Energy NMC batteries were heated to a temperature close to 50 degrees Celsius for an extended period of time -- a temperature higher than the design specifications.

Because it was impossible to rule out capacity loss or other damage to the batteries with the facilities available in Hawaii, for safety reasons the Solar Impulse team decided to replace the batteries with new ones. Later, post flight tests of the original batteries at a facility in Germany determined that the batteries were undamaged, with only a small decrease in the capacity of the batteries compared to their original capacity in November 2013. Given the use of the batteries for two years, this level of capacity loss is normal.

However, to avoid potential overheating of its batteries in the future the Solar Impulse team installed a new cooling system designed to prevent any temperature-related problems if the flight mission profile changes. In addition, in case the cooling system breaks down, a new backup system allows the pilot to manually open the container's vent, allowing him to use outside air to cool the batteries without letting them get too cold and freeze.

In addition, a few adjustments have been made to the engine housing (or gondola), which shelters both the battery and engine: an air vent was added to let air flow into the battery's cooling system. The Solar Impulse team also ensured that future flight plans provided the batteries with sufficient time to cool between flights, and adjusted its flight planning to avoid overheating batteries in tropical climates.

"When you are designing an experimental aircraft every additional system is a potential source of failure, and that is why we had not initially integrated a cooling system. As we had the time in Hawaii to replace the batteries, we decided to integrate the cooling system to give the airplane more flexibility, especially in very high temperature environments," said Borschberg. "The overheating problem was in no way related to any issue with Kokam's batteries, which have delivered excellent performance for Solar Impulse 1 and on every leg of the flight with Solar Impulse 2, supporting our record-breaking circumnavigation of the globe."

About Kokam Co., Ltd.

With a globally acknowledged and proprietary manufacturing technology, Kokam Co., Ltd has provided a wide range of lithium ion/polymer battery solutions to customers in over 50 countries and many different industries, including the military, aerospace, marine, Electric Vehicle (EV), Energy Storage System (ESS) and industrial markets. With over 150 battery-related patents and a total of 650-megawatt hours of field performance, Kokam is a proven leader in providing innovative, high-tech battery solutions. For more information, please visit www.kokam.com

Press Contacts

Kokam

Ike Hong
Business Development / Marketing  
Vice President of Kokam Co., Ltd
Tel: +82 (0)31 3620 137
battery@kokam.com

Cecilia Park
Strategic Marketing Manager
Tel: +82 (0) 31 3620 192
cecilia@kokam.com

Modal title

Contact PR Newswire

  • +44 (0)20 7454 5110
    from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships

Products

  • Content Distribution
  • Multimedia Services
  • Disclosure Services
  • Cision Communications Cloud®

About

  • About PR Newswire
  • About Cision
  • Partnering Opportunities
  • Careers
  • APAC
  • APAC - Simplified Chinese
  • APAC - Traditional Chinese
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Czech
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Mexico
  • Middle East
  • Middle East - Arabic
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Russia
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • United States
  • Vietnam

My Services

  • All News Releases
  • Customer Portal
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Data Privacy

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via Privacy@cision.com 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact PR Newswire

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Customer Portal
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
+44 (0)20 7454 5110
from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Information Security Policy
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 PR Newswire Europe Limited. All Rights Reserved. A Cision company.