Dropping batteries from the plane with parachutes is a terrible idea, but I've lost count of the number of times I've seen it proposed Perhaps, but there is al

Dropping batteries from the plane with parachutes is a terrible idea, but I've lost count of the number of times I've seen it proposed Perhaps, but there is also the middle-ground solution to use a booster rocket assembly similar to what the space shuttle uses. The booster can use its own battery packs and if needed its own additional engines, and when the plane has reached cruising altitude, the booster can decouple and return to the airport of departure.