Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer
Wide Operating Temperature Range Ruggedized Ultracapacitor For Deep Space Exploration
Project Description
A Carbon Nanotube (CNT) ultracapacitor capable of operating from the extreme low temperature of -110°C, up to 80°C will be developed. Traditional ultracapacitors exhibit limited operating temperature ranges due to use of high melting point and volatile electrolytes, and activated carbon electrodes. During Phase I, we will demonstrate a new low melting point ionic liquid based electrolyte and engineered CNT electrodes for high power and energy density retention at temperature extremes. The proposed ultracap will enable significant improvements in spacecraft avionics, launch vehicles, rovers and landers – reducing weight, volume and complexity while improving performance and relaxing design constraints on traditional battery technologies. At the end of Phase II, this device will deliver a high peak power density of (10kW/kg and 14kW/L) and an energy density of (8Wh/kg and 11Wh/L) over this broad temperature range. The prototype will have a cycle life of 1,000,000 cycles at room temperature and below, and more than 100,000 cycles at 80°C. Further, the device will be engineered to withstand high shock (up to a 1000Gpeak) and vibration (up to 60 Grms) conditions. In applications where long-lived energy storage devices are critical, dramatic reductions in total weight and volume can be achieved by pairing batteries with the proposed ultracap technology.
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Anticipated Benefits
FastCAP has identified a variety of applications where the proposed technology will have a significant impact in energy storage weight/volume reduction, complexity reduction and life extension. They include: Energy Storage for deep space exploration missions with extreme wide temperature requirements (i.e. Titan Missions, Comet-Asteroids Missions, Mars Missions, Lunar Quest Missions), Electric Propulsion Systems; GPS/Guidance; Deep Space Transponders and Radars; Satellites; Cube-Sats; Payload Operations; Exploration Vehicles (landers, rovers); Pyro Initiators for the stage separation of the rockets; Flight Termination Systems (FTS); Emergency Detection Systems (EDS); Peak Power harvesters from power sources such as PVs. In addition, there are specific applications suggested by FastCAP's aerospace industry partners for the proposed technology: Power optimization for Launch Vehicle (LV) applications for pyro initiators; Hydraulics power augmentation for the Next Generation Launch System (NGLS) program; Power optimization for Integrated Vehicle Fluids (IVF) system for the Common Upper Stage program; Power optimization for Lite and Heavy Electric Propulsion Upper Stages utilizing Hall Effect Thrusters to enable heavy USG spacecraft to GSO and NASA Interplanetary Missions.
A new generation of low temperature ultracaps would enable a variety of developments and advances in the realm of renewable energy production. For example, ultracaps are widely regarded as an ideal component to be used to feather the blades of large-scale wind turbines in high wind conditions, but currently available ultracaps are not able to perform effectively in high altitude and other extreme cold locations (Arctic, Antarctic). Similarly, an ultracap capable of extreme low temperature performance could enable significant performance improvements in other exploratory and energy production technologies, including cold water tidal and wave energy production operations, and deep sea drilling operations. Outside of renewable and traditional energy exploration and production, an ultra-low temperature ultracap would be useful in a variety of mission critical defense and civilian avionics applications, where current energy storage devices require thermal management to function properly. More »
A new generation of low temperature ultracaps would enable a variety of developments and advances in the realm of renewable energy production. For example, ultracaps are widely regarded as an ideal component to be used to feather the blades of large-scale wind turbines in high wind conditions, but currently available ultracaps are not able to perform effectively in high altitude and other extreme cold locations (Arctic, Antarctic). Similarly, an ultracap capable of extreme low temperature performance could enable significant performance improvements in other exploratory and energy production technologies, including cold water tidal and wave energy production operations, and deep sea drilling operations. Outside of renewable and traditional energy exploration and production, an ultra-low temperature ultracap would be useful in a variety of mission critical defense and civilian avionics applications, where current energy storage devices require thermal management to function properly. More »
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Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| FastCAP Systems Corporation | Lead Organization | Industry | Boston, Massachusetts |
Glenn Research Center
(GRC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Cleveland, Ohio |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
Massachusetts
-
Ohio
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