High Pressure Oxygen Generation for Future Exploration Missions, Phase I

Potential NASA Commercial Applications: Based on Proton's unique experience in commercializing PEM-based products, transitioning to NASA, DOD, and developing civilian commercial applications are important outcomes of this technology development effort. The NASA applications for this technology are clear: providing pressurized oxygen refill capability to a number of scenarios including ISS, EMU, and future lunar surface systems. Civilian commercial derivatives of this technology would be enabling technology for a variety of energy storage applications. High pressure electrolysis provides the key capability for volumetrically dense hydrogen and oxygen storage. Impacts of this technology on military operations include enabling high altitude unmanned aerial vehicle operations and a variety of underwater vehicle operations, especially unmanned underwater vehicles. The similarity between the high altitude and undersea applications is that both require the storage of oxidant in addition to the storage of fuel. High altitude UAV's can be used for missile defense, surveillance and communications. Undersea applications include long-term distributed data gathering with long endurance buoys, transport of special forces personnel, and mine neutralization among others. In short, the proposed effort will support the development of an enabling technology for a variety of applications that require high pressure hydrogen and/or oxygen for energy storage and life support. More »