Development of Onboard Power Sources for Interceptor Missiles

This SBIR program is aimed at improving the power density of primary silver-zinc cells in general, and particularly those used in interceptor ballistic missiles. We intend to achieve that objective by advancing the state-of-the-art of bipolar electrodes,where both positive and negatives are built on a common current collector, and of the "pile" batteries made with them, which are capable of up to four times the power output per unit volume, compared to conventional (monopolar) batteries. The majorobstacles to the development of such batteries have been (1) the problem of intercell electrolyte leakage, which creates parasitic currents, and eventually leads to failure and (2) overheating. However, we are confident to overcome those obstacles by usingrecently developed heat resistant plastics and epoxy adhesives, and individual cell valves capable of containing the electrolyte, at the same time allowing excessive gas pressure to vent. The successful completion of this program would result insilver-based batteries capable of up to 4 times the power density of those presently available, very attractive for military and space applications, existing and new, such as high speed underwater propulsion systems, short bursts of very high power,anti-ballistic missiles, etc.