Galvion delivers Nerv Centr® drone charging system to AeroVironment

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on 13th November, 2024. 

Galvion has completed delivery of 400 Nerv Centr® MAX-8 intelligent battery charging systems to AeriVironment that will replace the company’s existing charging system for some of its drones, according to a 7th November Galvion press release. 

This delivery is the first tranche under a long-term purchasing agreement, with further deliveries expected to be followed by a further 800 Nerv Centre mission adaptive charging stations (MAX-8s) by 2026. “The adapters developed for AeroVironment are compatible with their proprietary battery, and similar custom adapters can be developed, prototyped, and manufactured for other customer battery designs,” Galvion told Calibre in a 13th November email.

This means that the MAX-8 solution and adapter can be used across the company’s small uncrewed aerial system (sUAS) product offering, including sUAS like the Vapor MX55 helicopter, which can provide up to 75 minutes of operation time from two batteries. Or the ubiquitous Raven RQ-11B, which is a fixed-wing sUAS powered by electric motors also providing at least 75 minutes of flight time. 

The Vapor 55MX from AeroVironment can fly with two or three detachable batteries. Credit: AeroVironment.

“MAX-8 is a smart charging system that has been around for the past eight years, recent upgrades to the system were done in 2023, and new adapters, like the one developed for AeroVironment, are constantly in development,” Galvion said. The system will automatically select an optimal charging solution for up to eight batteries at a time based on the charge state of each battery. It also “has communication protocols to manage multiple batteries, and reach optimal charge speed for each type of battery.  With that said, actual charging times depend on battery’s state-of-charge, health, and capacity,” the company added.

The user simply plugs the MAX-8 into a given power source – which can be almost anything including AC and DC sources (think the main power grid and generators respectively), as well as solar blankets and vehicle batteries – and then attaches the relevant adapters and batteries. The interface also includes a scavenge mode, which allows the MAX-8 to completely drain a vehicle battery in charging drone batteries if necessary. It weighs 10.3 kg if supplied with adapters and an AC/DC brick. 

Calibre comment

Drones may be used continuously over a battlefield to limit exposure of personnel. In Ukraine, this leads units to carry more than one drone and fly them in orbits so that batteries can be recharged. However, if the drones are larger than the small DJI Mavic type systems used often in Ukraine and elsewhere, it is not practical to carry multiple drones. The Vapor MX55 above, for example, weighs up to 30 kg depending on its payload. So, carrying additional batteries that can be swapped in and out makes sense, and shifts the challenge to recharging them, which is where systems like the MAX-8 come into play. Transporting power into combat areas is always difficult, even when it is a fuel like diesel, so a modular charging system that can draw from almost any source of electricity and charge a wide array of batteries is a valuable addition for armed forces.