Silver/Metal Hydride Batteries for Communication Buoys

The US Navy requires a rechargeable direct current power source for communication buoys with five times the power capacity of current technology. RBC proposes to develop and demonstrate silver/metal hydride electrochemistry in sealed, wound cylindrical cells, as a technology that can meet the critical performance targets. The objective of the Phase I SBIR program is to design an electric power storage battery based on cylindrical silver/MH cells to meet the electrical requirements of the submarine launched device. The new design will be compared with existing technologies. RBC will build laboratory cells and carry out development to establish a fully functional silver/metal hydride electrochemistry. A particular requirement is a viable barrier to block silver ion migration between the silver cathode and the metal hydride anode, which RBC has shown to be the major cause of cell failure. The technical solution may involve a combination of electrolyte additives and selection of a stable separator system. Charge retention, rechargeability, safety, environmental and cost criteria will be considered. Spiral wound silver/metal hydride cells will be designed and built to validate energy and power capability. In the proposed effort RBC will work with two subcontractors, The University of Texas at Austin and Moltech Power Systems.