Airbus is making plans to drop lithium-ion batteries from its upcoming A350 planes. The Wall Street journal reports that Airbus is taking the decision so that deliveries of the A350 are not delayed due to regulations over the lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries have previously caused Boeing’s Dreamliner planes to be grounded after two instances of burning aboard the planes. Questions have also been raised regarding safety standards of batteries especially sincethe cause of the incidents has not been found. Last month a fire broke out in a Dreamliner, and although the location of the fire has been found, its cause is still unknown.The Airbus is expected to start flights by the middle of 2013. Airbus intends to keep testing the lithium-ion batteries, but will provide nickel-cadmium batteries for commercial flights. The move is being done to get proper certification for the planes. Switching to nickel-cadmium batteries would increase the weight equivalent to one adult male passenger out of up to 350. Boeing however might not be lucky to make the switch back to nickel-cadmium batteries, as a lot of Dreamliners are now out in the market, and the lithium-ion batteries have replaced a lot of systems in the plane.
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