High Temperature All Solid-State LiAl-CO2 Batteries for Venus Missions

The planet Venus is an interesting target for scientific exploration. However, long-duration missions to the surface of Venus present a significant challenge to the power system due to its ambient temperature (390 to 485oC), high surface pressure of carbon dioxide (92 bar) and other corrosive gases. Therefore, conventional power technologies including photovoltaic power systems and the traditional batteries could not meet the requirement for Venus surface application. TalosTech LLC proposed to develop a high temperature all solid-state LiAl-CO2 battery with superior cell performance by using ambient carbon dioxide at Venus surface as a reactant at cathode, an innovative tri-layer solid state electrolyte framework as separator, and solidified lithium or lithium aluminum alloy as anode. During Phase I, the team has demonstrated the feasibility of a high-temperature solid-state Li-CO2 battery with super high area capacity (up to 24.3 mAh/cm2), good rechargeability and long durability of over 200 hours operated at CO2 atmosphere and 500 oC, which outperformed any other relevant battery technologies in this area. The ultimate goal of this project is to develop a high-energy-density (948 Wh/Kg) and durable battery prototype, which can be operated under the tough conditions of Venus surface for more than 60 days.