Wright Selected for $3.34M Award From FAA FAST for Ultra-Lightweight Batteries

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Wright Selected for $3.34M Award From FAA FAST for Ultra-Lightweight Batteries

2024-08-20 00:52 Last Updated At：01:01

MALTA, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 19, 2024--

Wright Electric and its partners have been selected to receive a $3.34M award from the FAA FAST program to develop a new class of batteries that will enable zero emission aircraft flights on large 100+ passenger aircraft.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240819989681/en/

It is widely agreed that lightweighting batteries is the most difficult technical challenge preventing the adoption of electric aircraft. The objective of the R&D program is to construct highly energy dense batteries which hold roughly three times more energy per pound of weight than the best electric car batteries. These batteries would enable the wide scale adoption of electric aircraft in the 100+ passenger segment.

“When Wright Electric was founded in 2016, the idea of a battery that would allow aircraft to fly regional routes with reserves seemed like a fantasy to most people,” says Jeff Engler, CEO at Wright Electric. “Now, we are one of several companies with a viable path toward a technology that will enable regional aircraft flights entirely on battery power.”

Wright was founded to address the climate and noise impact of the aerospace industry by building electric aircraft. Wright is focusing on the 100+ passenger aircraft market because this segment accounts for greater than 90% of the carbon emissions of the aerospace industry. Wright builds ultra-power-dense electric aircraft engines and ultra-lightweight batteries for these aircraft. Wright works with NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The batteries Wright is developing use a novel molten Lithium-Sulfur chemistry with the potential for roughly 3x the gravimetric energy capacity of commercial li-ion. In this program Wright will emphasize reducing risks tied to airworthiness and high volume production.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to mature this technology and accelerate the decarbonization of air transportation in New York State,” says Engler. “This award will greatly accelerate our work to advance clean air travel and we couldn’t be more excited to get started.”

The funding for the FAA FAST program was provided by the Inflation Reduction Act.

“As one of the leading advocates in Congress for innovation and the advancement of clean energy technologies, I’m thrilled to see Malta’s own Wright Electric receive this significant infusion of federal funding,” says Congressman Paul D. Tonko. “This grant, one of just 36 awarded nationwide through the FAA FAST program, will deliver $3.34 million to advance Wright’s groundbreaking work on ultra-lightweight batteries for use on commercial passenger flights. When I visited their facility in 2022, I was deeply impressed by their commitment to pioneering zero-emission regional flights, and I’ve been proud in recent years to support their efforts to secure new federal investments. This award represents a critical step forward for Wright Electric and for our Capital Region, as we continue to lead the nation in the fight against climate change. Going forward, I’m eager to keep working alongside local companies to find innovative solutions to combat our climate crisis.”

Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 32, mostly women and children

2025-04-07 09:45 Last Updated At：09:50

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 32 people, including over a dozen women and children, local health officials said Sunday, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to the United States to meet with President Donald Trump about the war.

Israel last month ended its ceasefire with Hamas and has seized territory to pressure the militant group to accept a new deal for a truce and release of remaining hostages. It has blocked the import of food, fuel and other supplies for over a month to the coastal territory heavily reliant on outside assistance.

Israel's military late Sunday ordered Palestinians to evacuate several neighborhoods in central Gaza's Deir al-Balah shortly after about 10 projectiles were fired from Gaza — the largest barrage from the territory since Israel resumed the war.

The military said about five were intercepted. Hamas’ military arm claimed responsibility. Police said a rocket fell in Ashkelon city and fragments fell in several other areas. The Magen David Adom emergency service said one man was lightly injured. The military later said it struck a rocket launcher in Gaza.

Israeli strikes overnight into Sunday hit a tent and a house in the southern city of Khan Younis, killing five men, five women and five children, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies.

The body of a toddler took up one end of an emergency stretcher.

A female journalist was among the dead. “My daughter is innocent. She had no involvement, she loved journalism and adored it,” said her mother, Amal Kaskeen.

“Trump wants to end the Gaza issue. He is in a hurry, and that is clear from this morning,” said Mohammad Abdel-Hadi, cousin of a woman killed.

Israeli shelling killed at least four people in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The bodies of seven people, including a child and three women, arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, according to an Associated Press journalist there.

And a strike in Gaza City hit people waiting outside a bakery and killed at least six, including three children, according to the civil defense, which operates under the Hamas-run government.

Dozens of Palestinians took to the streets in Jabaliya for new anti-war protests. Footage on social media showed people marching and chanting against Hamas. Such protests, while rare, have occurred in recent weeks.

There is also anger inside Israel over the war's resumption and its effects on remaining hostages in Gaza. Families of hostages along with some of those recently freed from Gaza and their supporters have urged Trump to help ensure the fighting ends.

Netanyahu on Monday will meet with Trump for the second time since Trump began his latest term in January. The prime minister said they would discuss the war and the new 17% tariff imposed on Israel, part of a sweeping global decision by the U.S.

“There is a very large queue of leaders who want to do this with respect to their economies. I think it reflects the special personal connection and the special connection between the United States and Israel, which is so vital at this time,” Netanyahu said while wrapping up a visit to Hungary.

The U.S., a mediator in ceasefire efforts along with Egypt and Qatar, had expressed support for Israel's resumption of the war last month.

Hundreds of Palestinians since then have been killed, among them 15 medics whose bodies were recovered only a week later. Israel's military this weekend backtracked on its account of what happened in the incident, captured in part on video, that angered Red Cross and Red Crescent and U.N. officials.

The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage. Fifty-nine hostages are still held in Gaza — 24 believed to be alive.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 50,695 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says more than half were women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Early Monday, strikes hit inside the compound of Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where an Associated Press camera caught the sound of the explosions. Smoke and fire were seen from distance, and there were no immediate reports of casualties.

The Palestinian Health Ministry in the occupied West Bank said one Palestinian-American teen was killed and two others were injured — one in critical condition — and asserted that Israeli settlers had shot them.

Israel's military said it was looking into the incident in Turmus Ayya town, which is near Jerusalem and has a large population of Palestinian-Americans.

The war in Gaza has sparked a surge of violence in the West Bank, with Israel's military carrying out military operations that have killed hundreds of Palestinians and displaced tens of thousands. There has been a rise in settler violence as well as Palestinian attacks on Israelis.

Associated Press writer Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war