Novel Lithium Ion High Energy Battery

Under this SBIR project a new chemistry for Li-ion cells will be developed that will enable a major advance in secondary battery gravimetric and volumetric energy density with improved safety and reliability. By the completion of the Phase I effort the feasibility of the chemistry to achieve energy densities in excess of 300 Wh/kg and 600 Wh/l will have been demonstrated in lab cells, corresponding to a TRL of 3 to 4. A Phase II effort will involve further optimization of the chemistry and cell designs and extensive evaluation of 18650 or larger size cells incorporating the new chemistry.

The high energy battery cell design being developed under this SBIR has commercial applications as a drop in replacement for existing commercially available lithium ion batteries. The materials and processes used in the design are expected to be compatible with high volume production to allow for fast adoption of the technology. The first adopters of the technology are expected to be applications such as advanced cell phones that have video and internet applications which require more energy than previous generations of phones. We also expect that laptop batteries will be an early adopter for the enhanced runtime and safety features of the battery especially for use aboard aircraft. The longer term and potentially the largest application for the technology will be for use in plug in electric and electric vehicles for both commercial and defense applications where high energy and safety are an enabling feature to help the emerging markets.

The high energy battery cell design being developed under this SBIR can be used as a performance enhanced replacement in existing lithium ion cell applications which include LEO and GEO satellite batteries. This design is expected to have safety improvements related to overcharge which will provide an enhanced safety level which is an important factor for operations in which batteries are located in close proximity to humans for applications such as EVA suites, handheld electronic equipment batteries and independently powered sensors. The cell design can also be used with fuel cell hybrids in high powered propulsion applications.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — 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.

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