Lithium-Seawater Battery Development for a Deep Drifting Passive Sonobuoy System

The goal of this Phase II SBIR is risk reduction for the NGAPS DDS battery pack design in the areas of (1) electrochemical performance, (2) impact survival, and (3) the telescoping pack framework. For the first area, the performance of the individual Type I cells and small 3-cell packs will be measured under the environmental conditions expected during the operation of the NGAPS DDS. PolyPlus will discharge its battery packs in the lab under the most challenging simulated environmental conditions that the actual NGAPS DDS is expected to encounter: low to zero water flow, 0-1C temperature, and approaching zero concentration of dissolved oxygen. For the second area of risk reduction, PolyPlus will work with SeaLandAire to design test fixtures and carry out initial impact testing of key battery components in a representative pack framework. Finally, for the third area, PolyPlus will work closely with SeaLandAire to assess the design and modify the framework design to be applicable to our battery packs needs.