SBIR-STTR Award

Due to environmental control requirements, the sources of advanced separator materials for existing Ni-H2 batteries are going out of business. We are proposing to develop a cost-competitive, high-performance battery separator that can replace the current Ni-H2 separators without major cell design/assembly changes. We are planning to develop an environmentally benign battery separator and demonstrate a prototype that will meet or exceed the current performance, shelf life and calendar-life requirements.

Benefits:
The proposed battery separator can be mass-produced at a low cost, and can be utilized for other high-performance alkaline batteries both for commercial/HEV and military applications.

Keywords:
Environmentally friendly, High-performance, Alkaline batteries, Highly filled separator, Battery Separator, Low-cost, Ni-H2 batteries, Made form very stable UHMWPE

Due to environmental control requirements, the sources of separator materials for existing Ni-H2 batteries are discontinuing that business. During Phase I of this project, AMS developed an advanced battery separator technology that addresses this issue. Specifically, AMS developed a high-performance battery separator that can replace the current Ni-H2 separator without major cell design changes. Using a polyethylene polymer and benign fillers, AMS employed an environmentally friendly process to develop prototype material. These samples have been evaluated by military and commercial Ni-H2 battery manufacturers and have been judged to be an improved potential replacement for their batteries. These manufacturers have given AMS detailed material specifications for their applications, virtually all of which have already been met. Phase II will involve streamlining the manufacturing process; testing variations of the separator in actual military and commercial battery cells; receiving feedback from the participating battery manufacturers/testers; and further optimizing the formulation and process steps as necessary. The result will be that the necessary engineering and scientific steps will be completed to allow for moving from prototypes to pilot runs