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Re:Hyundai and Uber Unveil Autonomous Pods, EVTOL Aircraft, ... by filereaper on Friday January 17, 2020 @02:54AM (#22072721)
>5 to 7 minutes for recharging

The article is light on specifics but this stood out to me, most Tesla's take longer to charge. I'd imagine an aircraft would need more power than a Tesla, so how are they transferring energy so fast that automobiles can't do it but aircraft can?

Re:Hyundai and Uber Unveil Autonomous Pods, EVTOL Aircraft, ... by michaelt on Friday January 17, 2020 @06:53AM (#22073889)
Under absolutely ideal conditions, a Tesla on a 250kW charger for 8.5 minutes can regain 40% of battery capacity [1]

So, if you carry 2.5x the battery you need, so a 40% charge is all you ever need, then maybe? Although obviously, that would add to your weight, reducing your range.

If you were willing to hook up a supply of cooling water while charging, you might be able to do somewhat better - one of the key limiting factors in fast charging is the batteries heating up.

[1] https://insideevs.com/news/356710/tesla-model-3-test-v3-supe...

Re:Hyundai and Uber Unveil Autonomous Pods, EVTOL Aircraft, ... by clouddrover on Friday January 17, 2020 @05:09AM (#22073412)
Different battery chemistries have different C-rates, which is the rate at which a battery can be charged and discharged:

https://web.mit.edu/evt/summary_battery_specifications.pdf

https://batteryuniversity.com/index.php/learn/article/what_i...

And generally bigger battery packs can charge at higher kilowatts. Here's an electric ferry with a 4.1 MWh battery which can charge at up 6 megawatts. 600 amps at 10,000 volts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE_M1n-ClOA

So, like the ferry, these aircraft probably have big batteries that they charge enough to get to the next destination with a buffer for emergencies. The closer you get to 100% state of charge the slower the system will charge in order to protect the battery.

Re:Hyundai and Uber Unveil Autonomous Pods, EVTOL Aircraft, ... by walrus01 on Friday January 17, 2020 @11:40AM (#22076193)
> The article is light on specifics but this stood out to me, most Tesla's take longer to charge. I'd imagine an aircraft would need more power than a Tesla, so how are they transferring energy so fast that automobiles can't do it but aircraft can?

If I had to guess the 5 to 7 minute figure is based on some theoretical magical battery that nobody can buy yet. Something with Wh/density much greater than the current best lithium ion (1000 to 1200Wh/kg vs 245Wh/kg) and capable of much higher C rates for charge and discharge. It's a mock up so they don't have to, or want to share any more detail than a optimistic time figure.

Re:Hyundai and Uber Unveil Autonomous Pods, EVTOL Aircraft, ... by noodlesUK on Friday January 17, 2020 @02:59AM (#22072747)
It may not be a particularly large battery, as it’s got to take off vertically. It’s not a very long range either, just short hops.
Re:Hyundai and Uber Unveil Autonomous Pods, EVTOL Aircraft, ... by pishpash on Friday January 17, 2020 @03:28AM (#22072893)
Seems like not having enough range is a much bigger problem than for a car.