Protecting what’s most precious - eVTOL Composites Battery Enclosures
Speaker: Kai Steinbach, Technical Business Development, COTESA GmbH
FRP (Fibre-Reinforced Polymer) components have the potential to address many of the structural, weight, and performance challenges facing next-generation eVTOL aircraft. However, achieving reliable and efficient component performance requires a highly engineered approach to laminate design, fibre orientation, material selection, load paths, and the optimisation of material properties for the specific operating environment.
Battery safety and containment introduce additional design requirements, particularly around thermal management, electrical isolation, structural integrity, impact resistance, and protection against thermal propagation. These factors must be considered alongside the mechanical and environmental performance requirements of the FRP structure.
From the outset of each programme, structural design must therefore be closely integrated with manufacturing processes, material availability, supply-chain constraints, tooling, quality control, and scalability. Early consideration of Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA), material qualification, production repeatability, and lifecycle requirements is essential to achieving both technical performance and commercial viability.