High Energy and High Power Density Pseudocapacitor for Spacecraft

ABSTRACT:To address Air Force (AF) spacecraft distributed power source for pulsed power need, ADA Technologies, Inc. (ADA), in collaboration with its industrial partners, proposes to develop a high specific energy, high specific power and long cycle life pseudocapacitor via atomic layer deposition (ALD) of transition metal oxides on an electrochemical capacitor material. Phase I efforts will be focused on development and optimization of ALD metal oxide process through innovative solutions, to maximize pseudocapacitance from the transition metal oxides. Electrochemical characterization of ALD oxide enhanced pseudocapacitor will demonstrate pathway to achieve AF program goals.BENEFIT:ADAs proposed high specific energy, high specific power and long cycle life pseudocapacitor technology holds immense potential in providing an enabling capability to meet DoD spacecraft distributed power source need. Our approach leverages and builds upon prior accomplishments in this area, and specifically addresses the low energy density issues in the current state-of-the-art by utilizing high pseudocapacitive materials enabled via novel solutions in ALD processes. The proposed pseudocapacitor technology is well positioned to benefit other military applications such as, soldier portable power sources and commercial applications, such as, consumer electronics (e.g., cell phones, laptops, cordless power tools, hand-held devices, etc.), medical devices (e.g., pacemakers, defibrillators, hearing aids, insulin pumps, etc.), aviation, electric driven vehicles (e.g., automobiles, public transportations, etc.) and renewable energies (e.g., solar, wind, etc.).