Companies that help owners build their experimental Evolution Turbine kit turboprops are offering True Blue Power’s lithium-ion TX16 battery as the main-ship battery for their new airplanes. The TX16 weighs less than 15.6 pounds, a 45-percent weight savings over comparable lead-acid or nickel-cadmium batteries, according to True Blue Power. This model is a 16-amp-hour battery and is manufactured using the same A123 nanophosphate lithium-ion chemistry as the company’s certified batteries.

With a built-in battery charger, the TX16 also offers internal protections such as overcharge, over-discharge, over-current, short-circuit, under-temperature protection using an automatic built-in heater and over-temperature. Maintenance is less costly at 50 to 90 percent lower than other battery types, thanks to a two-year maintenance cycle. The TX16 is rated to last for eight years. Lithium-ion chemistry also helps deliver faster and cooler turbine engine starts, according to True Blue Power.

Assistance companies that are offering the TX16 to Evolution Turbine builders include Advanced Aviation, Cascade Aircraft Management, Fibercraft and Performance One Aviation. Evolution owner and pilot Jeff Edwards said that he sees “cooler engine starts and higher engine rpm. I’m seeing over 20 percent NG compared to 17 percent with my previous lead-acid batteries.” And removing and installing of the lighter TX16 is easier, especially as a result of the location of the battery on the firewall below the instrument panel and forward of the pilot and copilot rudder pedals.