LP33333 battery product

The LP33333 is a 28 V, 55 Ah lithium-ion aircraft battery made by EaglePicher Technologies. It is a rechargeable battery with an integrated battery management system, intended as a lighter replacement for nickel-cadmium aircraft batteries on manned and unmanned aircraft and on other platforms that need a high-capacity 28 V energy source.

The battery is built from the maker's proprietary prismatic cell technology. Its management electronics perform cell-balancing during charging and provide protection at both cell level and battery level. EaglePicher states that the battery needs no watering and no deep cycling, so the routine maintenance associated with older aircraft battery types does not apply. The design life is given as 5 years or 10,000 flight hours, and the maker reports a clear gain in low-temperature performance, available capacity and battery life compared with nickel-cadmium batteries.

The main figures are a nominal voltage of 28 V, a capacity of 55 Ah and an energy storage capacity of 1540 Wh. The maximum continuous discharge current is 66 A, about 1.2 times the capacity rating per hour, which is the figure to check against the sustained electrical load of the aircraft. The weight does not exceed 17.24 kg (38 lbs), which puts the energy content at roughly 89 Wh/kg at the weight limit. The operating temperature range runs from -40 to 65 °C.

For installation, the maximum envelope is 21.1 cm wide, 32.0 cm long and 19.1 cm high (8.3 x 12.6 x 7.5 in.). The battery transmits status data over an ARINC 429 bus, so the aircraft can read the state of the battery through a standard avionics data link. The battery management system provides cell balancing during charging and cell-level and battery-level protection, so the host charger and the aircraft bus handle only the external charge and discharge connection.

EaglePicher lists the applications as crewed and uncrewed aircraft, ground uses, electric vehicles, underwater vehicles and grid storage. In the unmanned aircraft and eVTOL context, a 28 V battery of this capacity suits the main bus, the avionics and emergency power, or the auxiliary supply for a large platform, depending on how the power architecture is divided. The data sheet states that it holds no technical data controlled under ITAR or EAR.