About:Energy, an innovator in battery development software, has announced a partnership with EFT Mobility, a Munich-based engineering company specializing in drone battery system development. This collaboration will accelerate battery innovation for drone platforms, where choosing the best-performing cell is a critical strategic decision for maximizing flight time, longevity, and overall program success.
Solving a Critical Problem in Drone Design
The drone industry faces intense pressure to maximize flight time and reliability. However, the manual, data-limited, and costly process of battery cell selection and pack development often hinders progress. EFT Mobility, which is part of the German company Quantum Systems Group, has moved beyond this industry status quo by using simulation to accelerate cell evaluation. This approach allows for faster assessment of multiple high-performance cells, which is crucial for optimizing performance for specific drone applications.
“Drones face intense pressure to maximise flight time, safety and reliability, yet cell selection and validation are often slow, data-limited and costly,” said Dr. Gavin White, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of About:Energy. “EFT Mobility has been an outstanding partner to showcase how simulation changes this reality. Together we are proving that high-quality battery data and virtual prototyping cut guesswork, speed up design timelines and enable right-first-time decisions, transforming drone battery development.“
Tangible Results from a Digital-First Approach
By implementing the About:Energy platform, EFT Mobility has achieved remarkable efficiency gains. The company reduced cell shortlisting time by six months through fast side-by-side comparisons of cells across key trade-offs, including flight-time, power, and thermal performance. Furthermore, pack development was accelerated by three months using scalable simulations to validate designs before physical testing. This digital approach also improved thermal issue detection by 20%.
Tobias Kahnert, CEO of EFT Mobility, emphasized the impact of the partnership on their operations. “We want to deliver the best drone battery solutions across multiple cell types and platforms, while giving our customers a rapid route to market,” he said. “About:Energy’s platform provides access to high-quality cell data that accelerates our selection and design processes, helping us quickly find optimal configurations for weight, flight-time and thermal trade-offs.“
A New Era of Battery Design
About:Energy’s comprehensive approach to battery data collection and virtual prototyping sets it apart. At its London facility, the company continuously tests a vast range of commercial cells, feeding its platform with more than 30 high-performance and next-generation chemistries. This gives engineering teams the latest insights into emerging technologies, which is essential for maximizing performance and programme economics in a rapidly changing geopolitical and supply chain landscape. The platform also helps companies predict and mitigate degradation issues before they impact designs, supporting faster and more confident technical and commercial decisions early in the design process.
