OCSiAl Supplies Carbon Nanotubes for EU's ELEVATE Electric Aircraft Battery Project

Luxembourg-based OCSiAl is lending its TUBALL single-wall carbon nanotube technology to ELEVATE, a Horizon Europe initiative focused on building aviation-grade battery cells. The project is chasing a specific energy target above 400 Wh/kg — a threshold widely viewed as necessary before electric regional aircraft can become commercially practical.

OCSiAl is one of eleven partners in the ELEVATE consortium. The group is pairing silicon-rich anodes with dry-coated cathodes, and OCSiAl positions its nanotubes as a critical enabling material for both sides of the cell. Silicon can hold far more lithium than graphite, but it swells noticeably during charging, and that expansion degrades electrical contact — a problem that caps how much silicon an anode can realistically incorporate. Dry coating, meanwhile, offers a route to electrode production without solvents.

According to OCSiAl, its nanotubes differ from standard conductive additives by linking active-material particles together and lending structural support to the electrode. The result, the company says, is higher electrical conductivity and better mechanical stability, along with improved flexibility under bending, less electrode swelling across charge and discharge cycles, and reduced spring-back following calendering.

While aviation is the first target for the work, OCSiAl expects the effort to also boost the competitiveness of Europe’s broader battery sector. Earlier in 2026, the company was selected as a supplier to PowerCo for its Unified Cell battery platform. Andrej Seniut, who leads Energy Projects at OCSiAl, said that at very low loading levels, single-wall carbon nanotubes form conductive reinforcing networks across the electrode, helping tackle core challenges around conductivity, mechanical integrity and cycle life.