Multiple press reports say Sarasota-based Helios Horizon has become the first company to fly an aircraft powered by solid-state batteries.
According to the Sarasota Magazine: “Helios Horizon’s aircraft’s previous lithium-ion batteries provided 260 watt-hours per kilogram. The new solid-state batteries yield 410 watt-hours per kilogram. For a high-altitude electric airplane, where every pound matters and battery performance can determine whether a flight is symbolic or actually useful, that kind of increase changes the math.”
The test aircraft is built around a modified Pipistrel Taurus airframe, but with wing extensions, solar panels and custom systems for power delivery, battery management. “It has previously reached 24,000 feet, and the team is now aiming higher: first past the electric aviation altitude mark, and later toward a 40,000-foot-plus stratospheric flight,” according to the newspaper report.
For more information
https://www.sarasotamagazine.com/news-and-profiles/2026/06/electric-aviation-helios-horizon-advancement-iturmendi
(Image: Helios Horizon)