MAINSTREAM ENGINEERING CORP — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N151-073

MAINSTREAM ENGINEERING CORP — SBIR Phase I award from Department of Defense.

Amount
$79,975
Agency
Department of Defense · Navy
Program / Phase
SBIR · Phase I
Topic
N151-073
Solicitation
2015.1
NAICS
Place of performance
FL
Period
2015-07-06 → 2016-05-06

Description

Current battery systems reject the generated waste heat via conduction to the external surface of the battery. This approach is adequate with low charge/discharge rates in small batteries, but is insufficient in the high rate, large-format battery cells required for supporting pulsed power naval applications. High internal temperature gradients and peak temperatures reduce battery performance, capacity, and safety. Mainstream has proposed a novel battery cell design integrating an internal heat removal mechanism. The approach is lightweight, inexpensive, and reliable, providing a new thermal pathway out of the battery with a thermal conductivity 200 higher than existing options. Modeling suggests that this approach significantly improves thermal performance relative to external cooling strategies, and its potential will be demonstrated in a proof-of-concept cell in Phase I.