Description: NASA space exploration vehicles are trending to higher pulse power, energy capacity levels and cycle life in order to meet exponentially increasing performance and lifespan requirements. As the demand for on-board power and total energy-storage capacity has continued to increase, there has been an increasing trend towards the use of battery technologies with higher energy- and power-density potential. Although substantial advancements have been made in this class of batteries over the past ten years by both domestic and foreign suppliers, substantial limitations still exist in: energy and power densities, operational temperature limits, safety, and lifecycle and lifetime performance. To address this need, ADA Technologies, Inc. proposes the use of advanced nanocomoposite electrodes and ionic liquid electrolytes to enable increased performance and safety in lithium-ion batteries as compared to state-of-the-art devices. The high capacity, high rate capability and high cycle life performance potential of the proposed advanced nanocomposite electrodes in combination with the inherent non-volatility and non-flammability of ionic liquids holds substantial potential in meeting this objective. This proposed project will result in improved specific energy and power, wider operation temperature ranges, inherently safer operation, and excellent storage / cycle life as compared to current Li-ion batteries.

Benefits: Beyond NASA, the proposed technology would also be broadly applicable to military and commercial satellite markets where a similar need for high specific properties (energy and power density) and high cycle life) exists. Finally and beyond the spaceflight community, the proposed technology could see use in numerous other applications where a need for high performance and safety in lithium-ion batteries is of great interest. These include automotive applications (plug-in-hybrid and all electric vehicles), utility grid applications, consumer electronics and other military (e.g., unmanned aircraft systems, portable power, etc.).

If proven technically feasible and commercially viable, the proposed technology could see immediate use in on-board power systems for existing and/or future space exploration vehicle programs. The combination of high performance (e.g., high energy and power density, cycle life, etc.) and increased safety for the proposed technology as compared to state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries holds substantial potential in greatly increasing the operational performance of NASA extravehicular activities, landers and rover platforms.