CHLORINE ELECTRODES FOR MOLTEN SALT BATTERIES

FUTURE MILITARY SPACE MISSIONS WILL REQUIRE 10-100 KILOWATTS OF SUSTAINED POWER WITH PEAK/PULSE POWER LEVELS OF 100 KW TO 100 MW. ELECTROCHEMICAL ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS WHICH CAN DELIVER HIGH POWER DENSITY YET OFFER HIGH ENERGY DENSITY NEED TO BE DEVELOPED. THESE RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES MUST HAVE DURABILITY AND COMPOSITION INVARIANCE FOR OVER 30,000 CYCLES. BOTH OF THE ELECTRODE REACTIONS IN THE METAL-CHLORINE SYSTEMS ARE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE FASTER THAN THOSE IN THE AMBIENT BATTERY SYSTEMS. THEREFORE, THESE SYSTEMS HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF DELIVERING EXCEEDINGLY HIGH POWER LEVELS WITH RESPECTABLE ENERGY DENSITIES. USING CHLORIDE-CONTAINING MELTS, SUITABLE METAL ELECTRODES AND APPROPRIATE FABRICATING TECHNIQUES AND MATERIALS, LONG CYCLE LIFE AND CYCLE-TO-CYCLE COMPOSITION INVARIANCE CAN ALSO BE ACHIEVED. THE PROPOSED PHASE I PROGRAM IS ORIENTED TOWARDS DEVELOPING CHLORINE ELECTRODES FOR MOLTEN SALT METAL-CHLORINE BATTERIES THAT CAN DELIVER HIGH POWER LEVELS AND A STABLE PERFORMANCE. METHODS OF ACTIVATION FOR GRAPHITE AND CARBON WILL BE EXPLORED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THESE ELECTRODES. ASPECTS OF BATTERY SYSTEM DESIGN WILL ALSO BE INVESTIGATED TO A LIMITED EXTENT.