Naval Shipboard Embedded Battery Containment System Ph II

The U.S. Navy has recognized the importance of developing a shipboard containment product for lithium-ion (Li-Ion) batteries that can effectively address their potential hazards in combat scenarios. Internal containment requirements are critical in mitigating battery thermal runaway fires and explosions, which can cause significant damage to the ship and its crew. To address this pressing need, Paragon proposes the Containment of Onboard Lithium-Ion Incidents and Operations (COOLIO) system. During Phase I, Paragon explored the trade-space of possible solutions to identify the most viable candidates. By leveraging our Coacting High Integrity Material Energetic Release Attenuation (CHIMERA) technology, Paragon developed a fully-passive thermal protection system capable of mitigating module thermal runaway. This system prevents failure propagation beyond the battery module of origin, protecting crew from harm and minimizing damage to the ship. Our fully-passive solution enables the Navy to safely store and operate arrays of large format (10+ kWh) Li-ion battery modules, supporting the high power (MW-scale) demands of upcoming systems, such as directed-energy weapons (DEW) currently being developed for guided missile destroyers (DDGs).In support of this initiative, Paragon proposes continuing COOLIO development in Phase II, including finalizing requirements, designing the full-scale battery containment product, manufacturing an engineering development unit (EDU), and validating the system performance with multiple, live Li-ion battery thermal runaway tests in the EDU. Phase II will transition COOLIO from TRL3 to TRL5, concluding with a prototype-level design informed from the generated analyses and conducted testing campaign. Beyond the challenges of Li-ion thermal runaway, COOLIO is also designed to be compatible with existing battery modules and Navy environments, allowing seamless integration into Navy ships with minimal impact on existing systems.