In-Circuit Energy Storage Device for Extreme Environments

Future NASA missions will require system operation at extreme environmental conditions, with temperatures as low as -180deg;C. Current state-of-practice is to place the hardware in bulky and power-inefficient environmentally protected housings. Hence, NASA is seeking systems that can operate in these extreme environments without needing environmental protection systems.nbsp;TDA Research, Inc. is developing hybrid supercapacitors that can operate in extremely cold temperatures (-180deg;C).nbsp; The supercapacitor electrodes will use our patented carbon structures to provide high areal capacitance and power in a small package with high power and energy density. On-chip supercapacitors provide the unique capability to store electrical energy and deliver it very quickly and efficiently, enhancing peak-load performance, and offer excellent cycling capability (1-2 orders of magnitude better than batteries).nbsp;In Phase I project, we fabricated and tested chip-sized supercapacitors (both 2D and 3D) with superior relative powers (avg. of 28.4-34.1 W/g) and relative energies of 4.6-5.6 Wh/kg (when mass is added for a commercial fully packaged device). We cycled over capacitors over 5,000+ charge/discharge cycles showing good stability. In the proposed Phase II work, we will continue the development of structured electrochemical capacitors for extreme environments, optimizing the carbon structures and (electrode formulations), the low temperature electrolytes used and the capacitor design to maximize the areal capacitance and its power and energy density. We will then fabricate, test, and deliver functional prototype cells to NASA at the end of Phase II.