Battery Technology for Military Communication Equipment

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

Over the past two decades, lithium-ion batteries have become the primary technology powering the rapid growth of portable electronics and more recently electric vehicles. However, current battery chemistries are unable to meet consumer demand for ever increasing range, power, and cycling stability. 

This is especially important in the military setting. Portable power is crucial when it comes to keeping soldiers safe. A new battery solution will provide US soldiers with better portable power in communication equipment. 

The U.S. Department of Defense has granted NanoGraf startup with a $1.65 million grant to develop longer-lasting batteries to power military equipment.

The company’s patented lithium-ion batteries were initially developed at Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory. 

The battery tech utilizes a composite of silicon and graphene in a layered structure to create higher cell level energy density and faster charging in lithium ion batteries.

The grant from the DoD is meant to develop silicon anode-based lithium-ion technology that is compatible with all portable batteries. 

The goal is to increase equipment runtime by 50-100% when compared to traditional graphite anode lithium-ion cells, and allow batteries to have a shelf life of more than two years and operate across a wide temperature range from -4° F to 131° F.

This isn’t NanoGraf’s first government funding. In 2016, the company signed a contract with the United States Advanced Battery Consortium (USABC) — made up of Ford, GM and Fiat-Chrysler — to make batteries for electric cars. And in 2019, it received an additional grant from the USABC to continue that work, according to americaninno.com.