Advanced Lithium Ion Batteries for Space Applications

The US Air Force has a need for a corrosion-resistant lithium-ion battery terminal seal capable of twenty years of service life in a space environment. Key requirements include a terminal seal technology that provides electrical isolation, hermeticity, and is compatible with cell electrolyte. Ideally, the hermetic seal should have the design flexibility with respect to size, selectivity of materials for the terminals consistent with the required current handling capability, while maintaining hermeticity over the required life of the batteries. In this Phase I effort, the ¡°hermacrimp¡± seal technology, which is emerging to be a very viable seal for aerospace application, is proposed to fulfill the 20 year long life objective. We have proposed a baseline seal design that is capable of surviving ultra conditions such as low to high temperature and also thermal stress. We propose to use also scaled terminal seals that are designed for large capacity Li-ion cells; i.e., ¡Ý 20 Ah. These seals will be subjected to planned test matrices to permit long life projections.