Ballistic Missile System Innovative Batteries

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency requires high energy density batteries (500-900 Wh/L) for expendable space launch vehicle power applications. Lithium thionyl chloride battery chemistry provides very high energy densities to these applications due to thelight weight of lithium and thionyl chloride solvent (500-900 Wh/L). However, due to the reactive nature of thionyl chlorides, the buildup of lithium chloride on the cathode surface during discharge hinders their utility due to the resulting loss incathode pore utilization. All efforts to date to solve the problem with supported catalysts on carbon must first make or buy the supported material followed by mixing with Teflon binder and then casting into the composite anode layer. Combustion chemicalvapor deposition of these composite layers can be beneficial by increasing the throughput rate because it can be used to deposit a composite catalyst layer of defined composition from inexpensive active catalyst precursor, Teflon binder, and high surfacearea carbon in a single processing step. Additionally, the high porosity of our composites has the potential to provide further enhancements in rate capability and pore utilization. Lithium thionyl chloride (LTC) batteries have application where highpower, and high energy densities are required. This effort will enhance the practical manufacturing of LTC batteries so that MDA will have a less expensive and higher performing battery for their needs.