Cadoux (ASX:CCM) reports its premiumHPA® alumina successfully powered batteries through a hypersonic rocket test flight in the US, validating the material’s performance under extreme conditions.
The test flight was conducted on 18 August by Pluto Aerospace using batteries developed by Navitas Systems and American Energy Technologies Company (AETC) incorporating Cadoux’s nanosized premiumHPA® alumina.
The Pluto Dash 1 rocket achieved a maximum speed of Mach 5.5, acceleration approaching 150 G‑force, and reached heights exceeding 45,000 feet.
The Navitas‑designed battery utilised 3.8 ampere‑hour pouch cells enhanced with Cadoux’s premiumHPA® across the battery architecture. The system was designed to operate in extreme temperatures ranging from 30°C at ground level to -50°C in the troposphere.
The flight demonstrated the battery’s ability to maintain reliable power delivery, thermal stability, and structural integrity under extreme acceleration, vibration, and temperature conditions.
“For Cadoux, the successful hypersonic test flight represents a further major step in the qualification and commercial de-risking of our premiumHPA®. The flight provided the opportunity to exhibit the battery’s operating performance in an advanced engineering application,” Managing Director Roland Hill says.
The battery technology combines AETC’s advanced additives with Cadoux’s premiumHPA® to boost performance, safety, and operating life.
Cadoux is developing high‑purity alumina production through a staged approach, including a 1,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) small‑scale facility in Western Australia followed by a 10,000tpa commercial plant.
Write to JC Villarba at Mining.com.au
Images: Unsplash
