SBIR-STTR Award

A new generation of spacesuits is needed to support EVAs for future surface exploration missions. These new suits will require decreased mass and volume, improved functionality, and excellent reliability. More power is required than today’s suit can provide. The battery pack will be the main source of power and weight and needs to provide an energy source for life-support functions, communications, system health status, and other needs. In addition, the battery must operate safely under harsh conditions of extreme temperatures, mechanical injury, and tolerate radiation. NOHMs Technologies is proposing to develop ionic liquid based hybrid electrolytes for safe, high energy density, high voltage, and high power batteries for space suit applications. NOHMs will develop a safe electrolyte for LiCoO2 that prevents thermal runaway and allows LiCoO2 to be charged at a higher voltage resulting in higher capacity. Rechargeable lithium ion batteries (Li-ion) are promising energy storage options for space applications. When charged to 4.2V LiCoO2 delivers 140 mAh/g specific capacity, which is only 51% of the theoretically possible (272 mAh/g) based on the crystal structure and allowable Li-ions it can host. To extract the unutilized capacity from the LiCoO2, one has to electrochemically activate the cathode by charging to a potential > 4.5 V vs Li/Li+. It has been shown that the high voltage charging of LiCoO2 results in 28% increase in delivered capacity and 4% increase in the nominal voltage. However, conventional Li-ion battery electrolytes are not stable at such high voltages and complementary development of electrolytes that are stable at these voltages are needed. In this Phase I, we will design electrolytes with functional ionic liquids and co-solvents to enable a high voltage, thermally stable and electrolyte formulation for traditional LiCoO2 cathode materials. Potential NASA Applications Initial NASA space-based applications include space suit power and EVA applications which will be supported by a space suit manufacturer. Additional NASA applications are satellites, Unmanned Aerial Systems, and other electric flight programs. Potential Non-NASA Applications Non-NASA commercial applications will include UAS platforms, satellites, and submarines. As battery lifetimes are increased to exceed current Li-ion technology, then larger commercial applications such as electric vehicles and renewable energy storage systems will be addressable with this technology. In particular, the increased safety of the electrolyte technology will be attractive to the commercial aviation industry.

NASA requires breakthrough battery cell technologies that are much safer than current state-of-the-art lithium-ion cell technologies in order to achieve NASAs far-term energy storage goals for human and robotic missions. A new generation of spacesuits is needed to support EVAs for future surface exploration missions. These new suits will require decreased mass and volume, improved functionality, and excellent reliability. The battery pack will be the main source of power and weight and needs to provide an energy source for life-support functions, communications, system health status, and other needs. In addition, the battery must operate safely under harsh conditions of extreme temperatures, mechanical injury, and tolerate radiation. There are major safety concerns related to thermal runaway and the potential for cells to explode. NOHMs Technologies is proposing to develop non-flammable hybrid electrolytes for safe, high energy density, high voltage, and high power batteries for space suit applications. The development of non-flammable electrolyte formulations is critical for expanding the use of high energy, high voltage batteries for space applications. NOHMs proposed electrolytes operate over a wide temperature range, and are electrochemically stable to ensure long battery lifetimes. The proposed technology is based on innovative functional hybrid materials developed by NOHMs Technologies, Inc. Potential NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) Next-generation space platforms using unmanned space vehicles, space suits, landers, and satellites will demand more power to sustain long range missions and complex sensing capability. Our battery technology with safety and high energy density can enhance capabilities and extend the duration of future NASA space missions. Potential Non-NASA Applications (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) NOHMs is developing safe electrolytes for a range of products. NOHMs will use advanced space and defense applications to prove the technology, then transition to larger commercial markets (e.g. electric vehicles), for which size, weight, and battery life are critical. With its advantages in safety and performance NOHMs Technologies battery is uniquely positioned to be a disruptive force.