July 16, 2025

Graphene, Batteries, and the Future of Flight | Charlie Burgoyne | Charlie Burgoyne

33 minutes

In this exhilarating episode of Hangar X Studios, host John Ramstead is joined by Charlie Burgoyne, founder and CEO of Valkyrie, a cutting-edge scientific R&D firm likened to a private DARPA. From miniaturizing a data center to fit inside an Altoids tin and sending it to the moon, to revolutionary breakthroughs in battery tech and graphene materials for aerospace, Charlie unpacks the present and future of innovation.

Charlie shares his experiences across NASA, DARPA, and Valkyrie, exploring AI, defense applications, autonomous vehicles, and the future of air mobility. The conversation weaves deep scientific insights with real-world applications, all rooted in values-driven innovation.

Whether you're a technologist, pilot, investor, or simply curious about where aerospace and materials science are heading, this episode is a masterclass in what's possible when stubborn curiosity meets breakthrough science.

Episode Highlights

How Valkyrie’s tech ended up on the moon

Shrinking a data center from pizza box to chewing gum size

Sodium batteries with 80x lithium-ion density

Graphene’s multifaceted future: from wings to waste disposal

Why autonomous flight is easier than autonomous driving

The future of EVTOLs and urban air mobility

Creating science teams built on honor, love, grit, and hope

What makes Valkyrie a transformative force in industry and defense

Key Points & Timestamps

[00:00:00] Charlie's background in government, NASA, DARPA, and how it shaped Valkyrie

[00:02:16] Sending AI-enabled data storage to the moon with Lone Star Lunar and Valkyrie

[00:04:40] Valkyrie’s mission: American science serving American values

[00:06:01] Company culture at Valkyrie: built on values and low attrition

[00:07:24] Sodium-based batteries: 80x density over lithium-ion

[00:09:03] Introduction to graphene and its applications in transistors, capacitors, and waste degradation

[00:11:00] Radar cross-section reduction with plasma and graphene coatings

[00:13:21] Combining graphene and sodium to overcome scalability in battery tech

[00:15:47] The mindset behind solving hard, high-impact problems

[00:16:31] The moon mission: miniaturizing hardware and solving complex constraints

[00:20:04] Using digital twin tech to eliminate ocean spills in maritime logistics

[00:21:19] Mesh intelligence and the future of autonomous systems

[00:24:15] Why autonomous flight will outpace autonomous driving

[00:25:49] Rethinking traffic density in air vs road-based transport

[00:28:15] The rise of autonomous air collision avoidance (mention of Daedalean)

[00:30:29] Post-COVID flexibility as a catalyst for EVTOL adoption

[00:31:11] First experience in a fully autonomous Waymo in downtown Austin

[00:32:15] A mystery problem Charlie hopes to tackle next—hinted but not revealed

Guest Bio: Charlie Burgoyne

Charlie Burgoyne is the founder and CEO of Valkyrie, a private-sector R&D firm known for solving some of the world’s hardest technical problems. With a background in physics, AI, and defense systems, Charlie has held roles at NASA, DARPA, and Los Alamos National Lab. At Valkyrie, he leads a team of elite scientists tackling complex challenges in aerospace, materials science, and national security. Charlie is passionate about solving mission-critical issues through a framework of American values and deeply invested in building a culture of excellence, grit, and hope.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-burgoyne-00843b30/

Notable Quotes

“I jokingly say I’m like the Forrest Gump of science — I’ve been all over the scientific community.”
— Charlie Burgoyne

“You now look at the moon and realize there's a piece of code you wrote living up there.”
— John Ramstead

“Our five values are grit, honor, love, curiosity, and hope — and they show up in everything we do.”
— Charlie Burgoyne

“Autonomous flight is a way easier problem than autonomous driving.”
— Charlie Burgoyne

“The real innovators aren’t thinking 3% year-over-year. They’re breaking that curve altogether.”
— Charlie Burgoyne

...more

View all episodes

By John Ramstead