PHYSICAL SCIENCES INC. — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N151-048

Description

Physical Sciences Inc. proposes to demonstrate a rechargeable Li-ion cell with energy density >500Wh/kg. The energy density will be attained by combining high capacity Si anodes with high energy cathodes. Phase I testing will demonstrate the efficient, reversible operation of the cell resulting in long cycle life. Testing using state of the art electrodes will demonstrate the capacity to increase the energy density of conventional cells while maintaining the lifetime performance. Pouch cell construction will demonstrate the scalability of the proposed technology and lay the ground work for multi-Ah cell builds in Phase II. The option effort will investigate the performance of the cell when using a non-flammable electrolyte. It will be demonstrated that performance is maintained with the non-flammable electrolyte while improving the cell safety. For the optimal system, a plan will be developed for producing the larger cells necessary for the Phase II prototype demonstration. The Phase II prototype cell construction and testing efforts will highlight the ability to form safe, high energy cells with the developed technology.