Publication

Power and Mobility (P&M)
2022

Advanced Nonflammable Battery

by John Hondred; Brian Henslee PhD; Tony Thampan PhD; Yi Ding PhD; Laurence Toomey PhD; Greg Less PhD

Abstract

As military vehicles expand in mission roles and in offensive and defensive weaponry, there is an ever-increasing demand for greater energy storage. Moreover, with the technological breakthroughs in Direct Energy Weapons and Active Protective Systems (e.g., high-energy laser and high-power microwave systems, especially for prevention of UAVs), there is a commensurate need for increased energy density military power supplies to provide electrification to these Next Generation Combat Vehicles (Lynx, Griffin I, and CV-90). Current lithium- ion batteries for vehicles (e.g., 6T) have limited energy density (~100 Wh/kg), which are not sufficient for the high energy and power needs of military vehicles. Additionally, they typically use carbonate electrolytes which are extremely flammable. To address these issues, CRG developed a high specific energy (>225 Wh/kg) lithium ion battery (LIB) pouch cell that could be integrated into current military vehicle battery forma is cell utilizes a high capacity graphite anode, a thermally safe cathode with high energy density, and a non-flammable temperature/voltage stable electrolyte. The developed cell is an improvement over the current safety and operational performance of military vehicle batteries.