In the world of battery technology, the trade off between power and energy has flustered experts for years. Energy measures the capacity to do work, while power measures how fast the work can get done. An increase in one of these variables, often comes at the expense of the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the Army\u2019s equipment continues to become more power hungry and the desired run time remains \u201cas long as possible,\u201d researchers at the U.S. Army Materiel Command\u2019s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, or CERDEC, are developing a new lithium ion battery hybridized with other materials that can meet both demands in a package small enough for soldiers to carry in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re able to do with these hybrids is get long run times, but also provide the power necessary to do the actual mission,\u201d said Terrill Atwater, CERDEC Command Power and Integration Directorate research chemical engineer. \u201cOne of the two components alone would either power the mission for a very short period of time or not power it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CERDEC\u2019s hybrid battery would also provide another advantage: lighter loads for soldiers. The hybrid battery is lighter in weight than the batteries soldiers currently carry, but it provides the same high pulse power and high energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll soldiers want to do is complete their missions without swapping out batteries,\u201d Atkins said. \u201cUltimately, that\u2019s what we\u2019re providing them. The capability to do their mission without swapping out batteries because they have too low power or energy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The goal for CERDEC\u2019s hybrid battery is to double the energy density of the Army\u2019s battery technology from the currently fielded 200 watt-hours per kilogram to 400 watt-hours per kilogram, effectively doubling the amount of energy in the same weighted volume package. They also plan to surpass the Army\u2019s 72-hour run time requirement, which is out of reach for current lithium ion technology. Researchers said they hope to begin fielding the hybrid technology in the coming years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main obstacle to achieving this landmark accomplishment? Safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe energy content of the technologies we deal with in the military for portable applications contains the same energy as a half a stick of dynamite,\u201d said Mike Brundage, chief for the CERDEC Command, Power and Integration’s Tactical Power branch. \u201cWe\u2019ve demonstrated the chemistry in the lab. Whether or not it can be done in a package that is safe for soldiers to use is still to be determined.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Researchers from the Army want to double the energy density capabilities of lithium ion batteries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":39695,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":16,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[106,29,16,32],"tags":[],"coauthors":[1103],"class_list":["post-13234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-brief","category-home","category-it-networks","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"LXMAH2JETFHAXCCRHSWTZCK3OQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/it-networks\/2018\/03\/01\/how-the-army-plans-to-revolutionize-soldier-battery-technology\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n