Long Endurance, High Power Battery

Present Sonobuoy and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) fleets being developed by the US NAVY for Anti-Submarine Warfare(ASW) systems rely upon electrochemical energy storage for primary power. The increase in instrumentation payloads and mission duration has increased the draw on existing energy sources and novel solutions are required to meet the demands of the next generation of buoys and UAV"s. Power sources commonly used in Unmanned Ariel Vehicle(UAV) fleets are comprised of rechargeable lithium polymer batteries containing LiCoO2 or LiMn2O4 cathode materials. MaxPower Inc. has developed a novel battery technology to compete with this present chemistry in single use applications. The core of this technology is a newly developed, high conductivity Carbon Monofluoride(CFx) cathode formulation. Recent testing has demonstrated that a specific energy of 320 Wh/kg and an energy density of 570 Wh/L are achievable at discharge rates up to 1/4C. The cell design utilizes a flat plate electrode assembly which can be easily designed to fit a multitude of form factors and can be scaled to meet increased power or life requirements. Performance testing of this chemistry has been conducted at temperatures ranging from -40 to 25°C. Active storage of cells up to three months at 70°C shows less than 5% capacity loss.