I searched the forum and believe that no-one has mentioned anything about Metal-Air battery technology yet.
Another lab in my university recently presented their research on this topic, and hyped a lot about it being the future of energy storage. It certainly looks awesome on paper, though longevity and discharge rate are a long way off what one would consider usable at present.
Here is a link with more info on the topic: Metal-air Batteries | Gayn Winters' Blog
i think this graphic shows a realistic picture. even if it takes a long time for high-current applications until li-ion technology can have a big increase. It is much easier to extend the flight time by adapting the overall system. cruise values of 5-5.5 g / w are already possible.
There’s alot of research going on around the world. I don’t think there will be a big improvement in short time for hobby grade batteries.
As bratwurst already mentioned it’s better to improve other things.
The four-motor concept with small props is VERY inefficiënt compared to a single big prop setup.
Ok the four-motor ppg works great and is rather cheap to get in the air but if you really want to get the most out of the now available batteries, go for a big single prop.
Do you know how do you calculate the efficiency of a propeller?
I am interested by your comment, and would like to know how much more inefficient are 4 small propellers than and single large one.
you can easily calculate it yourself. as an example: if the drive delivers 52 kg of thrust and needs 15 kilowatts. he has a g / w of 3.46. if the drive delivers 50 kg of thrust and needs 10 kw, it has g / w of 5.0. that is about a 30% difference in flight time. as a guide. in flight it is even clearer because the resistance of the single motor is much lower. you can find diagrams on my facebook page.
Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but there have been some press reelases around Amprius. Looks like they achieved 400~500 W/Kg:
https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/company/amprius-technologies/