On Demand High Power Primary Battery

Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) will demonstrate a high power primary battery design that can be stored in an inert state and rapidly activated on demand to provide >3500W/L, 450Wh/L and 150Wh/kg. This battery will increase the achievable energy and thus operating duration of active and passive Navy sonobuoys. The increased energy and power density will be achieved by using PSI’s high active (HA) cathode electrodes together with its novel lithium metal cell construction and operating techniques. These technologies maximize the active content in the final cell. During Phase I, PSI will demonstrate the ability to construct cells that deliver the targeted performance. Testing will highlight the ability to store cells in an inert state and activate them again to provide the same performance. The cell designs and techniques demonstrated in Phase I will be used to design and model the performance of the prototype battery to be constructed during Phase II. The option effort will evaluate the cell performance after extended storage at various ambient conditions. Successful completion of these efforts will demonstrate the readiness of the technology for further scale-up and demonstrations in Phase II.