Unexpected Power Source to Help Infantry Troops

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Military batteries must operate in a high temperature range, have high power and long energy density, and be safe in a ballistic environment. While conventional lithium-ion batteries represent state-of-the-art commercial power sources, they are not safe in a ballistic environment. The proliferation of soldier electronic devices may be powered by a new generation of batteries.

Batteries in extreme applications or environments are the focus of a program advanced by the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) in collaboration with the Center for Research in Extreme Batteries, CREB, at the University of Maryland.

This collaboration has led to the development of an electrolyte that is water-based. The battery, known as an aqueous battery, originally could generate about 2.4 volts. That limit has been extended to beyond 4 volts. A rapid reaction technology office program with

several collaborators aims to develop a flexible, conformable, non-flammable battery. “We hope it can change the way we power the soldier because we can make it flexible and conformal,” says Cynthia Lundgren, Electrochemistry Branch chief, ARL. “We’re not limited to a brick sitting on the side or in front of the soldier.” She adds that with time, researchers might be able to make the battery multifunctional or even dual-purpose as a vest that provides power.

According to afcea.org, the water-based electrolyte avoids the problems of explosion-prone batteries. When conventional high-power batteries overcharge or short out, their electrodes release oxygen radicals that react with the sensitive flammable solvent in the electrolyte, causing a fire, Lundgren explains. But the aqueous battery’s electrolyte will not react with an oxygen radical, so no fire will occur.

Size and weight are comparable to existing batteries.

Recently, one configuration placed it on the chest plate armor on the soldier’s vest. That didn’t work well, Lundgren relates, so it was placed in the soldier’s backpack, but changing it out from there requires assistance from another soldier. The latest consideration is to place it to the side of the armor plate, she says.

“One of the great advantages of the aqueous battery is that it doesn’t need a lot of packaging, it’s really very abuse tolerant—it only needs some Kevlar-like cloth on it,” Lundgren offers.

As envisioned now, aqueous batteries largely would provide soldier power, she offers. Yet ultimately they could be scaled up. This could happen as the technology progresses.