“One of the most impactful and difficult decisions for many aircraft manufacturers is around batteries, as batteries are as critical to electric aircraft as jet engines are to jet aircraft. They are extremely complex pieces of technology, the industry is highly capital-intensive, and battery performance completely dictates the viability of an aircraft design and operating model.”

“A stable and robust set of industrial policies is absolutely critical for ensuring success in the development and, even more critically, scale-up and deployment of new battery chemistries, says Richard Wang, founder of Crevasse Consulting.”

“Richard Wang, founder of the next-generation battery start-up Cuberg and the battery industry advisory firm Crevasse Consulting, says the solution is better coordination. He says that government bureaucrats—working far from the tangible problems of industry—sometimes support the wrong areas of basic research and that universities aren’t equipped to prove whether new technologies will work in the real world.”

“For something like this . . . $3 billion doesn’t get you in the game,” says Richard Wang, founder of the battery research firm Crevasse Consulting. “We’ve fallen behind, and catching up is way more expensive than leading.”

“China [is] crushing everyone on cost because of their subsidies, overcapacity, integrated supply chains, and overall maturity of their industry compared to the U.S.,” Wang explained. “Without significant policy intervention…we are well on our way towards seeing an implosion of the battery technology industry in the U.S. over the next couple years, and with a lot of these technologies being acquired for pennies on the dollar and taken overseas.” 

“Wang left Cuberg in February 2024 and went on to found Crevasse Consulting, a firm advising electric vehicle developers on battery-related matters. He considers silicon anodes and lithium-metal batteries as the two technologies that have the greatest potential to make it to the industrial stage over the next few years.”

“Electrification will open up new markets in short-haul that have never been viable before, according to Richard Wang, battery expert and former Cuberg CEO and founder.”

“Cuberg CEO and Founder Richard Wang sat on a panel moderated by esteemed journalist Elan Head of The Air Current. Other panel members included Max Liben of H3X Technologies, Damon Vander Lind of Magpie Aviation, Hamid Hamidi of Limosa, and Nathan Millecam of Electric Power Systems.”

“Richard Wang shared his perspective on the company’s new battery development program—as well as the electric aviation industry in general—in a recent interview with Avionics International.”

“When cutting edge advancements come down the pipeline, like carbon fiber components that save on weight, they’ve historically been willing to pay a higher upfront cost for aircraft if it helps them save money down the road. That means that they tend to jump on the new technology faster than car companies. Wang is betting that the same paradigm will hold true for his batteries.”

“Lithium-ion batteries are used for electric cars, but they don’t pack enough power for other critical sectors, such as aviation, heavy trucking, and marine transport. Richard Wang, 33, founded Cuberg to address this problem. He’s developed lithium-metal batteries, which have extremely high energy density, with ease of manufacturing in mind.”

“Wang's Cuberg is developing a safer and more energy-dense battery to improve the affordability and range of electric vehicles. Wang studied battery degradation mechanisms Tesla Motors and has a PhD in materials science from Stanford.”