TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems, Materials/Processes, Electronics

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) Handheld Manpack Program ACAT I

OBJECTIVE: To develop a primary (non-rechargeable) battery technology that can provide high-energy capacity suitable for low power electronic devices (such as sensors or communications devices) at military operational and storage temperature extremes.

DESCRIPTION: Currently there are no commercially available battery technologies/cell sizes that enable the manufacturing of a battery pack that will meet all of the performance requirements of the JTRS handheld radio (or other portable devices that include high-power consumption devices such as microprocessors and power amplifiers): 12 ampere-hours of capacity at a temperature of -40C when packaged within 14 cubic inches and a weight of 0.7 pounds or less. (Commercially available batteries provide only 25% of this capacity.)

It may be possible to use existing chemical technologies to achieve the desired performance (e.g., Lithium Carbon Monofluoride), but the architecture and construction of the battery cells must be capable of supporting the military range of temperature extremes (operating at - 40 deg C to + 55 deg C and storage temperature range of -51.1 deg C to 71 deg C) and retaining the required compactness and lightweight characteristics of the assembly.
This research effort will also include the development of a State of Charge (SOC) technology for the selected chemistry and cell design, which will enable operators to determine if the battery should be replaced prior to performing the mission. In order to develop this technology, several environmental factors beyond the discharge profile must be factored into the SOC technology (e.g., temperature, humidity and O2 exposure times). Any additional components required to implement the SOC technology should be small and have low power consumption and cost impacts on the overall battery assembly.

PHASE I: Design the battery cell and battery assembly architecture. Build and test laboratory cells to validate the viability of the cell design in regards to capacity, SOC measurement concept, temperature performance, and safety/environmental issues. Use modeling techniques to validate the design of the overall battery assembly based upon the proposed cell design. More than one battery design may be proposed for investigation in Phase II.

PHASE II: Take the most promising candidate(s) and build prototype cells/batteries. Conduct testing on these batteries using the established discharge profiles at the predetermined low temperature benchmarks. Make required changes to the design if required and re-test.

PHASE III: Build production ready samples to test in field conditions. Prepare safety assessment reports. Contractor will support field testing and data collection efforts for the batteries. Provide input required to develop the government performance specification.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Development of this primary battery technology could easily be leveraged by various federal, state, and municipal police, fire department, and first responders which also utilize handheld radios. (i.e. Land Mobile Radio LMR) This ensures that a broad commercial base exists for this technology and the development of an improved battery technology can be incorporated into the existing batteries will increase their operating times and reduce the overall operating and support costs.

REFERENCES:
1. Arek Suszko, "Lithium Carbon Monofluoride: The Next Primary Chemistry For Soldier Portable Power Sources," 25th Army Science Conference, Nov 2006.

2. Laura M. Cristo and George W. Au, "Large, Multi-cell Batteries for US Army Applications", Proceedings of the 41st Power Sources Conference, 14-17 June 20043. http://assist.daps.dla.mil/quicksearch/; MIL-STD-810F Environmental Test Methods and Engineering Guidelines

KEYWORDS: JTRS; communications; battery; handheld; commercial; technology; COTS; rechargeable; non-rechargeable, State-of-Charge, manufacturing; mission

TPOC: Sayeed Hasan
Phone: (732)532-2662
Fax:
Email: [email protected]

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

DoD Notice:   Between November 13 and December 9, 2007, you may talk directly with the Topic Author(s) to ask technical questions about the topics. Their contact information is listed above. For reasons of competitive fairness, direct communication between proposers and topic authors is not allowed starting December 10, 2007, when DoD begins accepting proposals for this solicitation.

However, proposers may still submit written questions about solicitation topics through the DoD's SBIR/STTR Interactive Topic Information System (SITIS), in which the questioner and respondent remain anonymous and all questions and answers are posted electronically for general viewing until the solicitation closes. All proposers are advised to monitor SITIS (08.1 Q&A) during the solicitation period for questions and answers, and other significant information, relevant to the SBIR 08.1 topic under which they are proposing.

If you have general questions about DoD SBIR program, please contact the DoD SBIR Help Desk at (866) 724-7457 or email weblink.