Archer completes installation of high-volume battery pack manufacturing line

Archer’s automated battery cell test and loading station. Source | Business Wire

Archer Aviation Inc. (Santa Clara, Calif., U.S.) has completed the build-out of its high-volume battery pack manufacturing line. This facility is housed at Archer’s Integrated Test Lab and Manufacturing Facilities in San Jose, California, and will have the throughput necessary to support the planned high-volume aircraft production ramp at Archer’s manufacturing facility in Georgia that remains on track to be completed later this year.

The battery pack manufacturing line was built to be an “automotive-style” line that is designed for high-volume production from day one with the final phase of the facility set to be capable of producing up to 15,000 battery packs per year. Archer has applied automation in key areas of the battery pack manufacturing process to improve quality, operator safety and data traceability. This includes cell test and load, adhesive dispensing, laser cleaning, laser welding and end-of-line testing.

“This is a major milestone for Archer as designing, developing and mass producing electric propulsion systems that are purpose-built for electric aircraft is the key to unlocking the electrification of aviation,” says Tom Muniz, Archer CTO. “The facility will give us the capability to scale our battery pack production to meet the demands of the output that our Covington, Georgia, facility will be capable of.”

Archer chose to vertically integrate its design and manufacturing of the battery pack itself to ensure it meets the rigorous levels of safety, performance and reliability necessary for its aviation use case. Archer’s battery pack implements a proprietary and robust thermal runaway containment strategy. In addition to a composite battery enclosure, the battery packs use cylindrical cells as those, relative to other cell form factors, have a track record of safety, performance and scalability. Archer’s battery pack recently successfully completed multiple drop tests, which are some of the most challenging tests Archer will face as part of the Federal Aviation Administraton’s (FAA) type certification program, further validating the safety and durability of the pack’s design.