Certified lithium-ion batteries for A350 will include SAFT´s BattCare for periodic tests on ground.

French Group SAFT, batteries supplier for A350 XWB, presented at Le Bourget airshow the certification of the lithium - ion battery that will be installed from MSN21 and on.

To remark the very high level of reliability of the battery, it was highlighted that it will be the first lithium-ion battery certified at the highest level (DAL A) of the DO-178B standard.

With a fully redundant electronic part, it has a failure rate less than 10^-9 occurrence per hour.

In parallel, SAFT also presented the BattCare, a tester of Li-ion batteries to be used directly on the tarmac.

The ground support engineers will check the status of the different batteries, and decide to load or unload them if necessary.

SAFT has developed a training program (the first session is taking place this month) for ground operators and maintenance technicians which provides basic education and best practices “to take full advantage of the optimum level of performance, reliability and longevity of the Li-ion batteries”.

This 2-day session are provided in the site of Aerocampus Aquitaine, the pole of training for the operation and aircraft maintenance near Bordeaux.

Courses are consistent with specialized training of level 4 of the Air Transport Association (ATA) as the Li-ion batteries are classified as LRU (interchangeable units online), i.e. repairable.

Li-ion batteries equip satellites since the 1990s, and 150 military aircraft F35 already in service, but civil aviation remains “a young market”.

The advantages of the 4 lithium-ion batteries (450VH1) to be installed in the A350s “provide a reduction in weight of 80 kg, their life expectancy is 8 years against 5 to 6 for nickel-cadmium batteries, and they do not need maintenance", details Jean-Marc Thevenoud, marketing responsible of SAFT Aviation.

Based on the article “Saft présente au Bourget la batterie Lithium-ion «la plus fiable du monde»” published in L'Usine Nouvelle