50 to 100 Ah lithium-ion cells for aircraft and spacecraft applications

Abstract

Battery weight is a continuing concern for the designers of power systems for aircraft and spacecraft. An obvious approach to lighter weight energy storage for these applications is to scale-up the lithium-ion battery technology presently being introduced into consumer portable electronics to meet the needs of larger power systems operating in severe environments. BlueStar is presently pursuing the development of 50 to 100 Ah cells for this application with funding from the US Air Force and Canada's Department of National Defence. Several 20 Ah cells have been built and preliminary testing is underway. The structure of the programme, test results with small cells and the design of the 20 Ah cell are described herein.