ATI’s 2026 Target Matrix vs the 2021 NASA Baseline
Back in 2022 we covered NASA’s targets for electrified aircraft propulsion, which were deliberately broad: a single system level specific energy figure of 400 Wh/kg, a general expectation of “1000’s of cycles”, and a note that power demand would spike hard during takeoff and landing. That breadth suited an early snapshot of where the technology needed to get to. In September 2026 the UK’s Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) published a considerably more granular set of battery requirements in its INSIGHT report, Aerospace Battery Requirements.[1] Instead of one number for “electrified aircraft”, ATI splits the requirement out by airframe category and by the specific job the battery is doing within the propulsion system, from a light more-electric-aircraft (MEA) load right through to full propulsion electrification.
The report covers three airframe groupings: regional aircraft, single-aisle commercial aircraft, and a “zero-carbon” category covering eVTOL and fuel cell propulsion. Within regional and single-aisle aircraft it defines up to eight distinct battery duty cycles, each with its own capacity, specific energy, cycle life and C-rate targets. The tables below reproduce those figures.
Regional aircraft targets
| Duty cycle | Capacity | Specific energy | Cycle life | C-rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| More-Electric Aircraft (MEA) | 5 kWh | 100 Wh/kg | 2,000 cycles | – |
| Electric Taxi | 15 kWh | >150 Wh/kg | 6,000 cycles/year | 4C (up to 15 min) |
| Hybrid Targeted Boost | 10–50 kWh | >300 Wh/kg | 3,000 cycles/year | >5C (1–2 min) |
| Hybrid Transient Assist | 10 kWh | >200 Wh/kg | >10,000 cycles | >15C (up to 10 s) |
| Hybrid Gas Turbine Take-Off/Climb Boost | 200 kWh | >400 Wh/kg | 3,000 cycles/year | 3C (>10 min) |
| Short-Range Battery Electric | – | >400 Wh/kg | – | 2C discharge, 5C recharge |
| Full Propulsion Electrification | – | >1,000 Wh/kg | 3,000 cycles/year | – |
| RAT Replacement / eAPU | – | – | 50 cycles (RAT) / 3,000 cycles/year (eAPU) | – |
Single-aisle aircraft targets
| Duty cycle | Capacity | Specific energy | Cycle life | C-rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| More-Electric Aircraft (MEA) | 5 kWh | 100 Wh/kg | 2,000 cycles | – |
| Electric Taxi | 40 kWh | >200 Wh/kg | 3,000 cycles/year | 4C (up to 15 min) |
| Hybrid Targeted Boost | 50–100 kWh | >400 Wh/kg | 1,500 cycles/year | >5C (1–2 min) |
| Hybrid Transient Assist | 20 kWh | >200 Wh/kg | >10,000 cycles | >15C (up to 10 s) |
| Hybrid Gas Turbine Take-Off/Climb Boost | 1,000 kWh | >750 Wh/kg | 1,500 cycles/year | >3C (>10 min) |
| Full Propulsion Electrification | – | >1,500 Wh/kg | 1,500 cycles/year | – |
ATI also sets targets for two “zero-carbon” applications outside the hybrid roadmap above: a 5-seat eVTOL needing roughly 150 kWh at >200 Wh/kg specific energy, a peak C-rate above 5C and a continuous C-rate of 1–2C, and a 50 kWh regional fuel cell propulsion system at 200 Wh/kg specific energy with the same >5C peak rate. Ground charging across the board needs a minimum of 2C capability, which the report ties directly to keeping aircraft turnaround times workable.
Where the 2021 NASA figure sits in this picture
Laid against this matrix, NASA’s single 400 Wh/kg system-level figure lands almost exactly on ATI’s Short-Range Battery Electric target for regional aircraft, and close to the Hybrid Gas Turbine Take-Off/Climb Boost target for the same category. It sits well below what ATI now specifies for full propulsion electrification: >1,000 Wh/kg for regional aircraft and >1,500 Wh/kg for single-aisle aircraft, roughly two-and-a-half to nearly four times the 2021 baseline. For context, current automotive pack-level energy density has plateaued around 180 Wh/kg, a figure our original 2022 article charted against NASA’s target. Even ATI’s lower bands, such as the 100 Wh/kg MEA target or the >150–200 Wh/kg electric taxi targets, sit inside or close to today’s automotive pack range; it is the boost and full-electrification tiers that ask for energy densities no current cell chemistry delivers at the pack level. See our pack gravimetric energy density page for how that cell-to-pack gap is calculated.
Cost is conspicuously absent from the target list. ATI does not publish a $/kWh figure for any of the duty cycles above, but the report is explicit that cost and cycle life trade against each other: it notes that “If a lower battery cost can be achieved (including cell and replacement costs), lower cycle-life requirements can be accepted.”[1] The report also flags the aerospace supply chain itself as a constraint independent of cell chemistry, warning that “creating a supply chain capable of delivering aerospace-grade cells that meet high-performance standards at small volumes is particularly challenging, especially when compared to sectors like automotive.”[1]
Certification and timeline
ATI sets a TRL 6 milestone for around 2030, feeding into a short-term entry-into-service target of 2035. The market case behind that timeline is substantial: the report forecasts 150 regional aircraft deliveries by 2040 rising to 530 by 2050, and 560 single-aisle deliveries by 2040 rising to 2,360 by 2050, with a stated ambition of doubling the sector’s market value to US$18bn by 2035. Certification for any of this sits on the same standards base we’ve already covered on the site: DO-311A and DO-160 from RTCA, and EASA SC E-19 for electric and hybrid propulsion, with EASA SC-VTOL covering the vertical take-off and landing case specifically.
References
- Aerospace Technology Institute, Aerospace Battery Requirements, INSIGHT report, September 2026.
See also: Aviation Battery Systems, Battery Sizing for a Commercial Aircraft, Ehang EH216-S eVTOL Battery, SAE AS6968