Recently, the security risk posed by the use of lithium-ion batteries in Boeing 787 forced the aviation giant to ground these planes. Taking a lesson from this, Airbus is planning to use the regular nickel-cadmium batteries in its A350 plane, sources claim.
Aviation regulators have recently taken a stricter line towards the use of lithium-ion batteries in planes. It means that if any new models make use of the said batteries, regulators will extensively scrutinize them before giving the green signal.
This poses a problem for Airbus. As it is, the A350 is already years behind schedule and is still in the works. It is expected that the plane will finally be ready to be pushed into the commercial arena sometime during the next year. However, if Airbus decides to use nickel-cadmium batteries in it, that may delay the commercial debut further due to possible regulatory hurdles.
So the company has apparently decided to ditch the lithium-ion batteries altogether. The test flights, Wall Street Journal reports, will still make use of the same batteries, but when A350 is available for commercial use it will pack nickel-cadmium batteries which are a lot safer in comparison. However, this is still reported by certain ‘inside sources’ and Airbus is yet to announce it officially.
Source: WSJ
Courtesy: Engadget
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