FUEL CELL POWER SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY - A NEW SAFE HIGH ENERGY SYSTEM

A NOVEL VERY HIGH ENERGY FLOW BATTERY EMPLOYING A REPLACEMENT METAL ANODE, A LOW COST LIQUID OXIDIZER IN A DYNAMIC AQUEOUS SYSTEM IS PROPOSED FOR INVESTIGATION IN THE PHASE I PROGRAM. THE ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE NEW SYSTEM IS BASED ON: A) VERY HIGH ENERGY DENSITIES; B) POTENTIAL BROAD RANGE OF POWER DENSITY CAPABILITIES; C) SAFETY OF THE SYSTEM AND REACTANTS (AQUEOUS ELECTROLYTE - NO HAZARDOUS FUELS); D) LOW COST OF REACTANTS PER UNIT ENERGY GENERATED; E) AVOIDANCE OF EXPENSIVE CATALYSTS; F) BROAD RANGE OF DESIGN POSSIBILITIES, AND G) RELATIVELY LOW RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT RISKS. THE PHASE I PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO EVALUATE THE DYNAMIC CATHODE WITH TWO VARIANTS OF THE ELECTROLYTE AND TO OBTAIN INITIAL COMPLETE CELL PERFORMANCE DATA FROM A SMALL LAB CELL. AN ADDITIONAL TASK WILL PROJECT ENERGY DENSISITES AND FUEL EFFICIENCIES AND RECOMMEND MATERIALS AND METHODS DESIGNED TO ACHIEVE A SUBSCALE TEST ON A MODULE TO BE DEVELOPED IN PHASE II.