Electronic Design Weekly: Sept. 14, 2026
In This Issue
- Editorial: There's a Great Future in Batteries
- Feedback Loop
- Featured Content
- New Products
- Advanced Battery Technology
- Multimedia on ElectronicDesign
- Editor's Choice: From the ElectronicDesign Archives
- Editor's Weekly Picks
- Illustrated Engineering
- Electronic Design Word of the Week
- New in Electronic Design's Member Library
- More Electronic Design Weekly
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Editorial: There's a Great Future in Batteries
Mr. McGuire: "I just want to say one word to you. Just one word."
Benjamin: "Yes, sir."
Mr. McGuire: "Are you listening?"
Benjamin: "Yes, I am."
Mr. McGuire: "[Batteries]"
Benjamin: "Exactly how do you mean?"
Mr. McGuire: "There's a great future in [batteries]. Think about it. Will you think about it?"
—The Graduate (1967)
While it would completely wreck the symbolism of the movie scene, I stand firm in saying that the next big wave of disruption to the way we build and do things, the one that has the greatest impact on the future of our species, is imminent battery innovation. Whether for mobility, grid storage, winged pseudosatellites that threaten low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites’ very existence, or portable devices, some of the ways we do those applications today will seem as archaic as the steam engine in just a few years.
My movie speech, above, to Budding Benjamins is in sync with their generational concerns and goes completely against the wrecking ball that a few of my Boomer cohorts have foisted upon the planet and its occupants. Yes, a few of us Peter Pans out there want to leave this clod of celestial dirt better than we found it.
Electronic Design recently covered the DARPA Lift Challenge (DLC-1.0), where the top two winning designs were electric, outperforming their gas-turbine-powered third- and fourth-place competitors, with nary a piston-powered widget in the running of the full course. A few of the lift challenge competitors could not even start their engines with all that choke in, choke out, and pray stuff...
The first prize Challenge winner was a helicopter powered by a solid-state battery technology from Factorial Energy, estimated to have an energy density of 390 Wh/kg. Second place was a hexacopter powered by an advanced silicon-anode battery from Amprius, also with 290 Wh/kg.
The hexacopter team made some bad decisions as the competition wound down that resulted in thermal structural failures, overheated motors (demagnetizing them), and depleting their scarce/expensive battery resource right before what would have been a first-place run in excess of a 4.0 ratio.
DARPA, having mostly successfully accomplished its goals of spurring innovation toward maximizing lift in a sUAS (drones under 55 lb.) in its Lift Challenge, recently announced a 2028 Lift Challenge competition, (also check out our podcast on the challenge), where the distance traveled is doubled from DLC-1.0, as is the minimum payload weight.
Having had a few weeks to think about the insane performance the new requirements expected from a new crop of sUAS, it may actually not be that bad. By 2028, advanced battery technology may make the lift challenge a bit less formidable than 2026 eyeballs would conclude.
Stay tuned for a full writeup on what’s looming on the horizon in battery technology.
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Globe and video wallHere are a few you can listen or watch related to this week's topic on motor control.
Editor's Choice: From the ElectronicDesign Archives
These articles were chosen by the editors at ElectronicDesign that complement the new articles above. They’re included in our regular newsletters.
servopromo_
edinterest_betavoltaiccell_eyecandyAndy's Picks from Around the Web
Peering into matter points the way to better batteries. Link
Tesla reveals European Semi specs: 550 km range, 800 kW charging. Link
BYD to put solid-state battery technology into a vehicle next year, executive confirms. Link
Trump’s forced coal plant extensions thrown out by judge. Link
Ontario Science Centre laying off entire science department. Link
Andy's Video Pick of the Week
We wrote here about General Motors moving to LMR cell chemistry around 2028, with the first target being pickup trucks (I suspect the Chevy Bolt will get this, explaining its short production run).
From the Inventors Comics Collection
My joke turned environmental campaign goes into part 3. This time it's about river cleanups. I upgraded the heroes. I outsourced the coloring to a professional, but is it better?
Read about the inspiration and story behind this 'toon here.
New in Electronic Design's Member Library
Are you an Electronic Design member? It’s free and you get access to content like our latest eBooks and editorial webinars. You can also provide feedback about articles.
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EDW TechXchangeAbout the Author
William G. WongWilliam G. Wong
Senior Content Director - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF
I am Editor of Electronic Design focusing on embedded, software, and systems. As Senior Content Director, I also manage Microwaves & RF and I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, programmers, developers and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.
You can send press releases for new products for possible coverage on the website. I am also interested in receiving contributed articles for publishing on our website. Use our template and send to me along with a signed release form.
Check out my blog, AltEmbedded on Electronic Design, as well as his latest articles on this site that are listed below.
You can visit my social media via these links:
- AltEmbedded on Electronic Design
- Bill Wong on Facebook
- @AltEmbedded on Twitter
- Bill Wong on LinkedIn
I earned a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Masters in Computer Science from Rutgers University. I still do a bit of programming using everything from C and C++ to Rust and Ada/SPARK. I do a bit of PHP programming for Drupal websites. I have posted a few Drupal modules.
I still get a hand on software and electronic hardware. Some of this can be found on our Kit Close-Up video series. You can also see me on many of our TechXchange Talk videos. I am interested in a range of projects from robotics to artificial intelligence.
Roger Engelke Jr.Roger Engelke Jr.
Managing Editor - Electronic Design and Microwaves & RF
Roger manages the websites and print issues for Electronic Design and Microwaves &RF.
Cabe AtwellCabe Atwell
Technology Editor, Electronic Design
Cabe is a Technology Editor for Electronic Design.
Engineer, Machinist, Cartoonist, Maker, Writer. A graduate Electrical Engineer actively plying his expertise in the industry and at his company, Gunhead. When not designing/building, he creates a steady torrent of projects and content in the media world. Many of his projects and articles are online at element14 & SolidSmack, industry-focused work at EETimes & EDN, and offbeat articles at Make Magazine. Currently, you can find him hosting webinars and contributing to Electronic Design and Machine Design.
Cabe is an electrical engineer, design consultant and author with 25 years’ experience. His most recent book is “Essential 555 IC: Design, Configure, and Create Clever Circuits”
Cabe writes the Engineering Life & Engineering on Friday blog on Electronic Design.
See Cabe's cartoons & comic strips here.
James MorraJames Morra
Senior Editor
James Morra is the senior editor for Electronic Design, covering the semiconductor industry and new technology trends, with a focus on power electronics and power management. He also reports on the business behind electrical engineering, including the electronics supply chain. He joined Electronic Design in 2015 and is based in Chicago, Illinois.
Andy TurudicAndy Turudic
Technology Editor, Electronic Design
Andy Turudic is a Technology Editor for Electronic Design Magazine, primarily covering Analog and Mixed-Signal circuits and devices and also is Editor of ED's bi-weekly Automotive Electronics newsletter.
He holds a Bachelor's in EE from the University of Windsor (Ontario Canada) and has been involved in electronics, semiconductors, and gearhead stuff, for a bit over a half century. Andy also enjoys teaching his engineerlings at Portland Community College as a part-time professor in their EET program.
"AndyT" brings his multidisciplinary engineering experience from companies that include National Semiconductor (now Texas Instruments), Altera (Intel), Agere, Zarlink, TriQuint,(now Qorvo), SW Bell (managing a research team at Bellcore, Bell Labs and Rockwell Science Center), Bell-Northern Research, and Northern Telecom.
After hours, when he's not working on the latest invention to add to his portfolio of 16 issued US patents, or on his DARPA Challenge drone entry, he's lending advice and experience to the electric vehicle conversion community from his mountain lair in the Pacific Northwet[sic].
AndyT's engineering blog, "Nonlinearities," publishes the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. Andy's OpEd may appear at other times, with fair warning given by the Vu meter pic. His cartoon series, "Inventors", appears each week in Electronic Design Weekly.
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