Boeing has a comprehensive set of improvements in order to add several layers of extra security measures to the lithium-ion batteries on 787 commercial jetliners are in production and will be ready for initial installation in the following couple of weeks.
New enclosures for 787 batteries are also being built and could be installed in airplanes within the weeks ahead.
These improvements, which continue to undergo extensive certification testing, will allow operators to renew commercial flights with their 787s once testing is complete and america Federal Aviation Administration and other international regulators grant their final approval.
The improvements include enhanced production and operating processes, improved battery design features and a brand new battery enclosure.
“As soon as our testing is complete and we obtain regulatory approvals, we can be positioned to assist our customers implement these changes and start the method of having their 787s back within the air,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Ray Conner.
“Passengers could be assured that we’ve got completed a radical review of the battery system and made numerous improvements that we believe will make it a safer, more reliable battery system.”
Battery system changes include changes to the battery itself, the battery charging unit and the battery installation.
Earlier this week the FAA approved Boeing’s certification plan, which lays out the discrete testing to be done to illustrate that the battery improvements address the conditions specified in the Airworthiness Directive that has suspended 787 commercial operations.
“We are following all the necessary protocols to get our new design fully approved and correctly installed in order that we are able to help our customers start flying once possible.
“We are simultaneously moving out on an effort to renew deliveries but completing our certification work and
getting the delivered fleet flying again is our first priority,” said Conner.
“Our customers and their passengers was incredibly patient as we’ve got worked through this process and we thank them very sincerely for his or her continued support and confidence within the 787.
“The more-electric architecture of the 787 brings real value not only to the airlines but to our industry.
“By reducing fuel use, we’re reducing our environmental footprint.
“This battery technology is a vital section of the more-electric architecture, that is helping us to chop fuel use by greater than ten billion gallons of fuel over the lifetime of this program.”