LYNNTECH INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N172-139

Description

The Navy is looking for safe, non-lithium advanced battery technology to replace Ag-Zn primary batteries for submarine launched ballistic missile (SLBM) application. Apart from safety, the critical requirements for the battery include 25+ years shelf life without any maintenance and 5+ hours of useful runtime once activated. Lynntech proposes magnesium based primary battery technology which provides much safer option compared to the reactive lithium or sodium based batteries. Another advantage of magnesium as anode is its high volumetric capacity due to the divalent nature of Mg2+ ions (3832 mAh cm-3 for Mg vs. 2062 mAh cm-3 for Li and 1136 mAh cm-3 for Na). The Phase I project will focus on proving feasibility of the advanced battery technology to reach > 100 Wh/kg energy density, long shelf life and fast response desirable for the SLBM application. A prototype design for a 30V nominal 22Ah battery will be prepared for subsequent demonstration in the Phase II project. Since magnesium is much more abundant than lithium or sodium metals, in addition to being safe and energy dense, the proposed battery technology will be much cheaper than lithium, sodium and Ag-Zn batteries, which makes it commercially attractive for consumer electronic market.