Vertical Aerospace today announced that its battery pilot production line is now operational at its Vertical Energy Centre (VEC). The 15,000 sq ft Vertical Energy Centre opened in 2023 and has produced the battery systems used in the company’s piloted flight testing since 2024, said the company in a press release. These proprietary batteries have delivered up to 1.4 MW of peak power during flight testing, according to the company.
The facility has now been upgraded with automated, aerospace-grade manufacturing processes designed to support certification and production, improving efficiency, consistency, and battery performance, said the company.
Vertical will use the pilot line to test and build the final battery packs for its seven Valo certification aircraft which will be used to take the aircraft through the final stages of its certification programme with the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), while also providing capacity for the first phase of commercial production following certification, targeted for 2028.
Vertical’s proprietary battery system powers both the electric Valo eVTOL aircraft and the hybrid-electric aircraft programme. While Vertical partners with tier-one aerospace suppliers including Honeywell, Aciturri and Syensqo across much of the aircraft’s development and assembly, the battery system remains a core in-house technology and a key value driver for the business, said Vertical.
By 2035, Vertical expects to have supplied up to approximately 45,000 battery packs across its aircraft fleet.
Alongside the pilot production line, Vertical continues to expand its manufacturing capability through the development of Vertical Energy Centre 2 (VEC2), its powertrain hub. VEC2, a new 30,000 sq ft facility adjacent to the existing site, is expected to open later this year and will triple battery production capacity. By 2027, Vertical expects to have invested USD8.5 million across the VEC and VEC2 facilities.
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