Battery Crisis Threatens AeroVironment and Kratos Defence—How HPQ Silicon Could Benefit

AeroVironment: The Pressure to Innovate and the Desire for Greater Endurance

As the market leader in tactical reconnaissance and attack drones for Western armed forces, AeroVironment faces the challenge of increasing the range and endurance of its systems to succeed in combat. To this end, AeroVironment is purposefully breaking new ground. The Switchblade 300 Block 20 model integrates Amprius Technologies' advanced silicon anode cells, which improve the flight time and operational reconnaissance range of the portable weapon system by at least 50%. In addition to continuously upgrading its existing portfolio, such as the Puma system, whose operational duration has been increased to 3 hours thanks to the new PS2500 battery, the company is also advancing new product lines. With the Mayhem 10 autonomous launched-effect system, unveiled in April of this year, AeroVironment is responding to the demand for swarm-capable, cross-platform units. The enormous demand for defence equipment is also evident in drone defence, where the Pentagon recently awarded a USD 500 million contract.

Kratos Defence: When Research Leads to Greater Performance

While pure battery systems dominate the tactical segment up to a takeoff weight of 25 kg, Kratos Defence focuses on long-range, jet-powered platforms and unmanned transport solutions in the high-end drone sector. At the heart of its portfolio is the stealth-capable "XQ-58A Valkyrie," with a ferry range of more than 5,600 km. To establish a presence in Europe, Kratos is collaborating with Airbus, which is integrating the European MARS mission system into the Valkyrie airframes at its facility in Manching near Ingolstadt. In the civilian and logistics cargo sector, Kratos Defence also serves as the exclusive manufacturing partner for Elroy Air's "Chaparral" drone. The Chaparral C1 system relies on a hybrid power supply consisting of a 160-kW TS100 gas turbine and a generator that charges the buffer batteries in flight to transport payloads of over 226 kg over hundreds of kilometres. To gain a detailed understanding of the weaknesses and wear and tear of the high-performance battery systems used, Kratos employs state-of-the-art methods in its own test laboratories.

HPQ Silicon: A Materials Push for the Next Generation of Batteries

Amid the race to increase flight time and charging capacity, Canadian specialist HPQ Silicon is making waves with its high-purity battery materials and pyrogenic silica. The GEN3 silicon anode technology developed by its French subsidiary Novacium demonstrates an outstanding capacity retention of 94% in a direct endurance test after 300 cycles, significantly surpassing established industry standards set by Panasonic, LG, and Samsung. To bring this performance to mass production, HPQ Silicon plans to achieve an annual production capacity of 1.5 million "HPQ ENDURA+" 18650 cells and to scale up production of the silicon-based anode material at the Novacium plant in Lyon. With the GEN4 cylindrical cell unveiled in April 2026, which delivers over 7,000 mAh at extended voltage conditions, the company further improved its key performance metrics and immediately secured its first commercial order from a European drone manufacturer.

Breakthrough at Defence Trade Show in France

To gain a foothold in the market with their superior technology, HPQ Silicon and Novacium are establishing integrated value chains. Together with LN Innov' and Groupe Zekat, Novacium presented the "Integrated Drone Propulsion System" (IDPS) at the Eurosatory 2026 defence trade show in Paris, which combines brushless electric motors, intelligent controllers, and silicon-based batteries into a technologically advanced powertrain from Europe. This could also give the company an edge in the next generation of drones and pave the way for further progress. One thing seems certain—as long as wars continue worldwide, drone technology will continue to evolve.

Conclusion: HPQ Silicon Finds Its Niche

With its consistent focus on silicon as an anode material, HPQ Silicon has carved out a niche that is likely to gain importance in light of the NDAA guidelines taking effect in the US starting in 2028, which aim to decouple from Chinese raw materials. Novacium's innovative silicon anode portfolio improves the range of existing platforms.