Battery System for Hybrid-Electric Aircraft: Lime Project in Aviation

Aviation Research Project 'Lime': Battery System for Hybrid-Electric Aircraft

2026-01-08 From Stefanie Eckardt | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

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In the research project "Lime," short for "Lithium-based Innovation for Modular Energy," Ascendance Flight Technologies as the consortium leader, the Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components at RWTH Aachen, Exoes, Basquevolt, ATR, Airbus, and Daher are working on developing a Technology Readiness Level 4 battery system for the hybrid-electric propulsion of regional aircraft.

In the Lime project, companies from the aviation and battery industries are working on a battery system for hybrid-electric aircraft.(Image: Freely licensed on Pixabay) — In the Lime project, companies from the aviation and battery industries are working on a battery system for hybrid-electric aircraft.
(Image: Freely licensed on Pixabay)

In the research project, the initial goal is to define the requirements for the battery system. Aircraft manufacturers Airbus, ATR, and Daher are involved as associated partners and potential end users. The next step involves developing and testing a prototype. How this can be integrated into regional aircraft will then be evaluated. Along the way, the project will address the specific requirements of the aviation industry, including certification standards and user demands under the CS25 certification regulations for large aircraft over 5,700 kilograms (~12,500 pounds). "If successful, the battery system will surpass the current state of the art in terms of thermal management, energy and power density, and safety," says Professor Achim Kampker, head of the Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) at RWTH Aachen.

Digital Twin Reduces Costs

The overall suitability of the prototype will then be demonstrated on the ground. The partners will use a digital twin in this process. "The use of a detailed digital twin of the entire battery system will optimize development, reduce costs, and minimize physical prototypes to achieve rapid design validation," emphasizes Nikolaus Lackner, project manager at PEM. The project also includes creating a roadmap for industrialization, outlining the necessary steps to further develop the battery system into an economically viable series-production system for regional aircraft.

Task Distribution

What exactly are the project partners working on? While Basquevolt is testing its solid-state cell technology in connection with the project, Exoes contributes expertise in the development and thermal management of battery modules. Ascendance is responsible for the development, validation, and integration of the overall system and acts as the project's lead.

As part of the European research program "Clean Aviation," a battery system based on the technologies developed in the "Lime" project is to be implemented in hybrid-electric regional aircraft by 2035. (se)

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