SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF PLUTO AEROSPACE DASH VEHICLE MARKS A HISTORIC EVENT FOR NORTH AMERICAN LITHIUM-ION BATTERY INDUSTRY
- AETC News
- 4 days ago
- 8 min read
American Energy Technologies Company (AETC) of Wheeling, IL is very excited to announce a successful launch of a hypersonic rocket at Spaceport America, located near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The launch was enabled in partnership with Pluto Aerospace of West Lafayette, IN. AETC has been a partner and an approved supplier of mission-critical components to Pluto Aerospace since 2024, and its products were a part of regular hypersonic launches since May 2025. This particular flight is very special in that it employed a much bigger motor, achieving greatly increased hypersonic speeds and acceleration. The flight that was successfully conducted at 14:00 MDT on Tuesday, August 18th, 2026 is formally registered as Pluto Aerospace Dash-1 (008) solid fuel hypersonic rocket launch.
In addition to the novel rocket motor, this flight employed several important cutting-edge technologies aboard the hypersonic vehicle design. Specifically, it used an innovative ablative nozzle insert designed for enhanced thrust performance and manufactured by AETC into a near net-shaped high temperature-rated graphite part. In addition, the rocket was outfitted with 4 aluminum fins, with each side coated with performance enhancing antifriction, ice-phobic coatings based on natural graphite and other proprietary materials. Furthermore, the flight featured an interior chamber that held a lithium-ion battery which powered the rocket’s altimeter. Lastly, the flight incorporated a payload chamber designed by Purdue University - School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Aerospace Two-Phase Flow Lab, GTA AAE418: Zero-Gravity Flight Experiment. The latter provided 180 degrees video feed from the rocket in-flight, focusing on the condition of ice-phobic coatings on fins.
The event was the capstone of multiple months of preparation for this important flight. Several stationary firing tests that were aimed at measuring the thrust of the rocket preceded the launch. It also included several smaller-scale flights, as well as intensive simulation and component manufacturing. All of these were the building blocks of the sounding success that was demonstrated during the launch on the 18th.
With the launch of this rocket, Pluto Aerospace and AETC celebrated a cohort of its trusted vendors and raw material suppliers, which include Navitas Systems (an advanced U.S. battery manufacturer), Blencowe Resources Plc of London, UK (a natural graphite developer and supplier of critical components for ice-phobic coatings used aboard the flight), and Cadoux Limited, of Australia, (a supplier of nanoscale alumina, a critical safety component of lithium-ion batteries).
Of special note is the application of 3.8 Ah pouch cells manufactured by Navitas Systems using manufactured natural and recycled graphite in the anode and as a cathode conductivity enhancement additive. In addition to being a natural graphite-dominant battery, Navitas’ product featured the application of as much as 15 wt.% loading of fully recycled and “healed” graphite that was produced through AETC’s Direct Recycling process. This process was set up at AETC’s Wheeling, IL industrial facility throughout 2024 to 2026 as part of AETC’s participation in the European Commission’s Framework Programme Horizon Europe BATT4EU Partnership projects SAFELOOP and STREAMS. It is the first known example in the North American battery industry where a fully functional form-factored battery incorporated industrially manufactured recycled graphite as a significant component of active material on the anode as well as to the conductivity diluent on the cathode.
With this flight, AETC is celebrating the new era in the use of recycled and “healed” materials as part of lithium-ion cell design. The majority of traditional battery systems on the market, including lead-acid, alkaline, and other battery chemistry types, adopted recycling as part of their flow sheets and made it a sustainable part of new battery manufacturing. However, until now, the application of truly recycled materials in commercially-produced lithium-ion battery systems in North America, to the best of our knowledge, has never been done. Therefore, we are celebrating Navitas and the team of battery scientists and engineers who integrated the recycled graphite into the battery on this important industry achievement.
For that reason, in addition to the logo of Navitas, the aft of the rocket bore the names of Ben Benedict, Kahla Sardo, Tim Hicks, Riley Hicks, Chris Silkowski, and Neal N. Johnson, current and former employees of Navitas Systems whose efforts were critical to enable the integration of recycled graphite into their advanced lithium-ion cell formulation.
The event was also dedicated to the lasting memory of Dr. Iouri Prokofiev, a renowned scientist of graphite for the nuclear industry and a former employee of National Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the US Department of Energy. Ablative nozzle inserts deployed as part of the design of the Pluto Rocket use graphite components whose design was inspired by the teachings of Dr. Prokofiev.
Lastly, the flight was dedicated to Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24, 2026. In doing so, we honored Ukraine’s S&T community who left their homes to protect their country and the rest of Europe.
Anna Doninger, Government Relations Manager of American Energy Technologies Company (AETC), said, “We at AETC are very pleased to see how our relationship with Pluto Aerospace is growing. What started as an idea has now grown into sustainable business between our companies. Almost every flight from Pluto Aerospace is now outfitted with critical graphite components produced by AETC. As we have participated in multiple rocket launches, we saw in today’s flight how much the Pluto Aerospace team has grown in just over a year since their very first Dash One hypersonic launch in May 2025. We are very pleased to be a part of this success and look forward to many exciting developments.
With this flight, we are also pleased to recognize our trusted vendors of raw materials, Blencowe Resources and Cadoux Limited. Their materials are making a difference in the performance of mission-critical components that we supply to the aerospace industry. We look forward to strengthening our business ties with these organizations.
Furthermore, with this historic flight, we are drawing the attention of the worldwide community to a record set by a North American battery manufacturer where up to 15% by weight of fully recycled and healed graphite extracted from the end-of-life lithium-ion batteries has been incorporated into a newly built form-factored battery. While we are aware that there is some other exciting news about the use of recycled materials in batteries coming out from our partners in Europe, the battery developed by Navitas is believed to be North America’s first example of using recycled graphite in form-factored lithium-ion batteries designed for specialty applications in the US.
Ben Benedict, Contract Manager of Navitas Systems was quoted in saying, “Navitas is incredibly proud of our team members’ work and our partnership with AETC on this effort. Advances in technology tend to take far longer than we all would like, so when milestones like this are achieved, it deserves to be celebrated not just by the organizations directly involved, but by the battery community as a whole. I commend the AETC team for their endeavors on this front and truly appreciate the opportunity for Navitas to be a part of it. Congratulations to all on this success and the new opportunities it provides on the path ahead!”
Iain Wearing, COO of Blencowe Resources Plc commented: "As an emerging supplier of natural graphite from the Orom-Cross natural resource located in Uganda, it is good to see our product being used in the real-world aerospace application. With today's high fidelity Pluto Aerospace flight, we tested our graphite for use as a pigment in the exterior coating on rockets, among other applications. Of specific interest was to verify that the coating containing our graphite maintains a high level of hydrophobicity, a key prerequisite to ice-phobicity, once the coating experienced hypersonic speeds. I am pleased to see that our coatings held very well, and this is what we wanted to see ahead of product integration into the aerospace platforms in the US and Europe. I thank everybody here who participated in putting our advanced material on a hypersonic rocket. This is what we want to see happen."
Finally, AETC wished to recognize the following students and staff at Purdue University - School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Aerospace Two-Phase Flow Lab, GTA AAE418: Zero-Gravity Flight Experiment: Reva Amritkar, Adrian Valluppara, Ryan Lewis, Sayantan Mukhuti, Merritt Alspaugh, Jack Devine, Dr. Anthony Cofer and Professor Steven Collicott.
About American Energy Technologies Company.
American Energy Technologies Co. (“AETC”) is a woman-owned, privately held business which conducts operations out of the greater Chicago area. In its Wheeling, IL facility, AETC operates three business units: a manufacturing plant making battery-ready graphite and carbon materials, a pilot demonstration facility for battery materials and graphite dispersions, and a fully functional applications laboratory supporting the above business units. Currently, AETC is one out of just three organizations which commercially manufacture lithium-ion battery-ready graphite in the United States. Furthermore, AETC’s Wheeling, IL plant is currently the only industrial end-to-end commercial manufacturer of spherical purified surface coated natural graphite in the US. In doing so, the company develops and operates an upstream ore beneficiation, unique refining, particle spheroidization, and carbon coating technologies. AETC is both developing and produces spherical graphite (natural and synthetic), expanded graphite, partially graphitized nanostructured carbons, ultra-high purity graphite-based electrically conductive inks, paints, and coatings which find use within the industry. AETC is a proud supply chain member of electric vehicles and an approved supplier to twelve battery manufacturers and one fuel cell producer.
For more information, please visit https://www.usaenergytech.com
About Pluto Aerospace:
Pluto Aerospace Inc. operates in the industry of Aviation and Aerospace Component Manufacturing. Pluto enables rapid technology prototyping for hypersonic and other suborbital applications. It is an Indiana based business building the fastest path from lab bench to a high-fidelity hypersonic flight. Their test vehicles are designed for flexibility and affordability, enabling researchers, developers, and mission designers to rapidly iterate and make a meaningful impact on national security.
About Blencowe Resources:
Blencowe Resources Plc (BRES) is a UK listed firm currently developing the OROM-Cross Graphite Project in northern Uganda. Orom-Cross is a potential world class graphite project both by size and end-product quality, with a high component of more valuable larger flakes within the deposit. The project is estimated to contain between 2-3Billion tonnes of ore grading approximately 8%TGC. Blencowe has to date outlined a JORC resource of some 64Mt @ 6.4%TGC. The concentrates produced have through extensive testing shown to be a high-quality product for all applications and with a 50:50 split between large and fine flake can supply all applications of concentrate usage. The project will develop one of the first, large commercial spheroidization plants in Africa (and outside China) as part of the overall project.
About Cadoux Limited:
Cadoux Limited is an Australian critical minerals development company advancing premium High Purity Alumina (HPA) and rare earth projects to supply high-value materials for the global clean energy and advanced manufacturing sectors. The Company's strategy is centred on producing application-specific, ultra-high purity products that meet the stringent quality, consistency and performance standards required for lithium-ion batteries, semiconductors, advanced ceramics, permanent magnets and other high-technology applications. Through innovative processing, rigorous technical development and customer qualification programs, Cadoux is positioning itself as a reliable supplier of premium critical minerals to support secure and sustainable global supply chains.
About Navitas Systems.
Navitas (technical center in Ann Arbor, MI), a wholly owned subsidiary of East Penn Manufacturing Company, Inc. (EPM, headquartered in Lyon Station, PA), is a developer and manufacturer of innovative, high-performance battery systems. Navitas operates a full-service facility focused on research, development, manufacturing, and testing of lithium-ion cells and batteries to support military, commercial, and industrial customers. EPM is a 75-year old private, family-owned US company operating the largest single-site, lead battery manufacturing facility in the world.
