SBIR/STTR Award attributes
Energy storage and power efficiency are at the center of US Air Force operations capabilities, enabling the functionality and control of AF bases and aircraft systems. Managing the consumption and storage costs of these critical power systems, and developing unique energy assurance projects that can be replicated across the Air Force, are essential to maintaining advanced levels of mission readiness and resilience, while significantly reducing costs. The Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC), is host to the Energy Directorate (CN), tasked with delivering secure, sustainable and efficient energy solutions so that installations have the resources they need to execute their missions. AFCEC/CN collaborates with the AF Materials Command's (AFMC) Installation and Mission Support Center (IMSC), on several major activities including Mission and Energy Assurance (MEA), Power studies for backup systems and uninterruptable power supply, and survivability through resourcefulness. These organizations represent key USAF stakeholders for Nanoramic's high-density energy storage devices. Nanoramic® Laboratories is developing the next wave of electrode technology to dramatically improve the performance of batteries and ultracapacitors. Their proprietary Neocarbonix™ electrodes are demonstrating major advances in Li-ion energy storage devices, enabling high-energy and high-power density Li-Ion batteries and capacitors with long cycle life and wide temperature ranges (-55 to 85 ºC). The high-performance Li-ion battery/capacitor energy storage devices are designed and manufactured by special capacity ratio design of binder-free cathode/anode electrodes, ultra-thin lithium anode electrode pre-lithiation method, wide operating temperature electrolyte, and optimized test formation processes. The manufacturing process for the Neocarbonix™ electrode-based Li-ion energy storage devices can save up to 20% in $/kWh of the cost compared with conventional Li-ion battery manufacturing process. Simply put, Nanoramic® products provide greater power, energy density, and performance in extreme environments compared to traditional battery designs. Battery and supercapacitor manufacturers utilize Neocarbonix™ to optimize their production process, to support product growth, to reduce cost, and to increase compatibility with any active material. During this Phase I project, Nanoramic will contact AFCEC's Energy Directorate (CN) relevant divisions (CND/CNR), and AFRL's Advance Power Technology Office (APTO) and Direct Energy Directorate, in order to gather use cases and align with the needs and goals of current power efficiency development project. After which, they will evaluate the technical feasibility of reaching the objectives, and determine the most appropriate pilot project. Nanoramic will be mindful to select a pilot site and project that is representative of the needs of other USAF installations to maximize the number use-cases for which the prototype is directly relevant.
