Air taxi developer Archer Aviation is collaborating with NASA on advanced battery technology, it announced Monday.

Why it matters: The future of advanced air mobility, including electric planes and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) like Archer's Midnight aircraft, will require more powerful and efficient batteries.

Details: The collaboration will kick off with a project focused on developing high-performance battery cells for electric aircraft, and potentially spacecraft.

• NASA will test the safety, energy and power performance capabilities of Archer's battery cell and system design using one of the world's most advanced high-speed X-ray facilities: the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.
• The goal is to understand how the cells function while being subjected to extreme abuse.

What's next: NASA will share the results publicly as a way to push progress across the entire industry and keep the U.S. at the forefront of aviation, Archer said in a press release.

What they're saying: "Many countries around the world are challenging the U.S. in this new era of flight, and our country is at risk of losing its global leadership position unless we work together, government and industry, to ensure we seize the moment and pioneer this new era of aviation technology," Archer founder and CEO Adam Goldstein said.