Electro Energy Inc. to develop advanced technology battery for high-altitude airship program
DANBURY, Conn., 13 July 2007. Electro Energy Inc., a provider of advanced battery technologies and associated systems, announced a new contract award from Lockheed Martin for technology development of Very High Specific Energy Battery Cells for use in the company's High Altitude Airship (HAA) program.
Lockheed Martin's Defense and Surveillance Systems business, based in Akron, Ohio, contracted Electro Energy to develop an advanced, lightweight, rechargeable lithium-ion battery to power the HAA an unmanned, lighter-than-air vehicle that will operate in a geostationary position to provide an array of communication and navigation services for both civilian and military purposes. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the HAA.
The contract, for which Electro Energy is collaborating with Rutgers University's Energy Storage Research Group (ESRG), will incorporate advanced materials into EEEI's proprietary bipolar wafer cell technology with the objective to achieve improved battery "specific energy" -- or energy per unit mass. The goal is to achieve significantly higher specific energy than current state-of-the-art batteries in support of this next-generation airship.
"Lockheed Martin is continually assessing potential energy storage technologies," says Stavros Androulakakis, Lockheed Martin's HAA program and technical manager. "Very high specific energy rechargeable storage technology is a key to enabling stratospheric airships like HAA to stay aloft for many months at a time. Electro Energy's advanced rechargeable lithium-ion battery is an example of what is possible with recent developments in the practical application of nanotechnology."
The EEEI proprietary bipolar wafer cell lithium-ion design provides high energy capability with reduced volume and weight. The benefit of the bipolar wafer cell design compared with conventional batteries is lower cost, increased energy density, longer life, and improved reliability. In addition, the unique bipolar wafer cell design allows the battery to be configured in multiple geometries to fit into small areas and conform to other specialized design requirements.
