High Performance Lithium Sulfur Battery with Novel Separator Membrane for Space Applications

For NASA's human and robotic mission, the battery with extremely high specific energy (>500 Wh/kg) and long cycle life are urgently sought after in order to reduce the payload weight. Current state-of-the-art lithium ion batteries, such as graphite/LiCoO2 or graphite/LiFePO4 systems, have limited specific energy to around 220 Wh/kg on the cell level. In order to meet the future NASA mission requirements, new out-of-box battery chemistries and components need to be developed. On the commercial side, electric vehicles (EVs) seem to be promising alternatives to replace the internal combustion engines, which can reduce the consumption of petroleum oil and CO2 emission. However, up to date, the lack of suitable batteries with high energy density and excessive cost of the power sources have hindered the development and widespread market penetration of the EVs. Driven by the strong market pull, Bettergy has invented a novel ion selective membrane that can be employed along with Li2S based cathode material to develop the next generation lithium sulfur battery. This novel battery is expected to have 1) high specific energy (>500 Wh/kg); 2) long cycle life (> 1000 cycles); 3) long storage life and 4) great safety feature, which can meet the challenge requirements of the NASA mission.

Advanced high energy battery systems are now sought for use in the future NASA human and robotic mission. Light weight and long life battery could substantially reduce the payload for the mission and extend the mission duration. This represents significant market opportunity.

In recent years, unmanned vehicles, including UAVs, UUV and USVs, have witnessed rapid growth due to its unique capability in information gathering and surveillance. Their operation duration is limited only by the power source they carry. So we expect that high energy density battery will gain substantial market shares in this military market. Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are now used extensively in a wide range of consumer applications where high energy densities and extended cycle life are required. Also, there is growing trend in using these batteries for EV, HEV and PHEV, as well as electric energy storage. The global market for these batteries is estimated to be US$18 billion in 2010 and is growing at double digit rate. It is expected this high energy density battery will capture certain market share in this commercial market.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.