SBIR-STTR Award

Developments in micro/nano technologies are leading the way to a new fleet of micro air vehicle (MAV) airframes. However, the unavoidable and ultimately the mission-limiting issue for all of these new systems will be on-board power. The lightest-weight current lithium-polymer batteries don’t provide sufficient energy densities and impose a variety of operational limitations that are unacceptable for practical MAV systems. ADA Technologies, Inc. proposes to develop a novel power system that leverages recent work on ultra-high-efficiency nanomaterial electrodes and inherently safe electrolytes. Current hybrid-power systems for MAVs incorporate a high-energy device and a high-power device. The hybrid-power device proposed in this project is essentially an advanced lithium-polymer battery design able to operate in both high-power and high-energy modes with great efficiency, thus eliminating the need for separate devices. In Phase I, ADA will demonstrate the use of recently developed high-performance nanocomposite electrodes in prototype batteries that exceed the performance of current Li-ion batteries. In Phase II, the ADA team will synthesize solid-state electrolytes and combine them with nanocomposite electrodes to fabricate high-energy / high-power lithium-polymer batteries. A novel power system incorporating these new batteries will be demonstrated for advanced MAVs in the Phase II.

Keywords:
Micro Air Vehicles, Power Systems, Energy Storage, Batteries, Lithium-Ion Batteries, Lithium-Polymer Batteries, Nanocomposites, Electrolytes.

Micro Air Vehicles (MAV) have emerged as a critical need for the U.S. Air Force. MAVs are envisioned to conduct a variety of indoor and outdoor reconnaissance missions and must be highly mobile and man-portable. Furthermore, many of the envisioned missions for MAVs require significant endurance. Unfortunately, current state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries are not capable of providing sufficient energy while remaining within the highly constrained mass and volume budgets for MAVs. As a result, significant advancements in lithium ion battery technologies (e.g., increased energy and power density) are required to enable MAVs to execute their intended missions. To address this need, ADA Technologies, Inc., proposes to continue advancements made in Phase I to develop advanced nanocomposite electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. When combined with a suitable ionic liquid electrolyte, the proposed technology will provide substantially greater energy and power density, cycle life and safety as compared to state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries. The proposed program will establish electrode synthesis protocols, relevant-scale electrode processes and ultimately design and produce full-scale prototype lithium-ion cells for integration into a target test-bed platform.

Keywords:
Energy Storage Devices, Lithium Ion Batteries, Power Sources, Power And Energy Density