Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “batteries R&D”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Fission Batteries: Definition, Key Attributes and Research and Development Needs

The term battery was first introduced by the American scientist and inventor Benjamin Franklin in 1749, followed by invention of the first true battery in 1800 by Alessandro Volta. Today, batteries are a ubiquitous source of portable electric power across different applications. Batteries are widely used across a range of scales from consumer products to grid-scale energy storage. There are different types of batteries, but they can be broadly classified as chemical or electric batteries [1], atomic batteries, nuclear batteries, tritium batteries or radioisotope generators [2, 3]. Atomic batteries, nuclear batteries, tritium batteries, and radioisotope generators have gained significant attention for applications requi-ing long-term power supply and high-power density, including the space power reactor [4]. While a number of reactor systems, particularly micro-reactors, are referred to as fission batteries, this paper defines key attributes required for a fission reactor to achieve capabilities comparable with the characteristics of batteries that enable their wide-spread use. Achieving this full vision of a fission battery will enable broad deployment of fission reactors that function like batteries. The research and development (R&D) activities needed to achieve the desired fission battery attributes are discussed below.

46 - INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AN↗
DOE OSTI2020

Electrification Annual Progress Report (FY2019)

During fiscal year 2019 (FY 2019), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) funded early stage research & development (R&D) projects that address Batteries and Electrification of the U.S. transportation sector. The VTO Electrification Sub-Program is composed of Electric Drive Technologies, and Grid Integration activities. The Electric Drive Technologies group conducts R&D projects that advance electric motors and power electronics technologies. The Grid and Charging Infrastructure group conducts R&D projects that advance grid modernization and electric vehicle charging technologies. This document presents a brief overview of the Electrification Sub-Program and progress reports for its R&D projects. Each of the progress reports provide a project overview and highlights of the technical results that were accomplished in FY 2019.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Impact of electrolyte solutions on carbon dioxide fixation in single chamber Al–CO 2 battery

Governments and research & development (R&D) organizations are actively initiating various programs and research strategies for CO 2 capture, its utilization, and integration with long duration energy storage from renewable sources worldwide. In line with the carbon capture goals, here we report a novel electrochemical Al-CO 2 battery cell, that can simultaneously capture CO 2 and convert it into value-added products, in addition to long-duration energy generation and storage. Here, this innovative approach employs cost-effective Al metal as an anode and an in-house synthesized Ni–Fe based bimetallic double hydroxide catalyst as the cathode, with meticulously optimized compositions and morphologies. We explore the impact of different aqueous electrolyte solutions compositions on the cell performance, demonstrating up to 10 h of stable long duration energy storage with a stable voltage profile. The cell exhibits low polarization even at high current densities of up to 12 mA cm -2 and maintains stable cycling over 500 h. Through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, we determined that the discharge product is either NaAlCO 3 (OH) 2 or KAlCO 3 (OH) 2 , distinct from the Al 2 (CO 3 ) 3 typically reported in conventional Al–CO 2 batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

The importance of cycle-by-cycle data in performing rapid battery technology development and validation

Lithium-ion battery (LiB) technology is playing a crucial role in transforming the predominantly fossil fuel-based transportation and stationary storage sectors to achieve a low-carbon economy. Rapid innovation in the LiB materials to electrode to cell design is happening to satisfy the performance, life, and safety metrics required by those myriads of applications. Lately, advanced analytics, such as machine-learning or artificial intelligence (ML/AI) techniques, are being used more frequently to aid in expedited LiB technology development, performance validation, and life prediction. The success of these techniques often relies on a large volume of well-defined and high-quality battery test data. On the other hand, most battery developers and research and development (R&D) communities are still following a classical approach to develop batteries, which is running calendar- and/or cycle-aging tests, performing reference performance tests (RPTs), and conducting post-mortem analyses periodically without paying attention to the wealth of data often not collected during the calendar or cycle life aging tests. This sparse data collection approach is time- and resource-intensive, requiring data capture and evaluation of months to years of RPT data to diagnose accurate battery state of performance, health, and safety. Even so, the underlying aging modes and mechanisms can be missed. If collected properly, battery test data during cycling or calendaring can be efficiently combined with ML/AI techniques to create powerful tools in the rapid diagnosis of battery state of performance, health, and safety along with insights into underlying aging modes and mechanisms. In this report, we discuss the importance of effective cycle-by-cycle (CBC) data collection with example case studies. Within a reasonable timeframe, RPT data are often inadequate in capturing many of the crucial battery aging dynamics, which often predominantly show up in CBC test data. Finally, we also show examples of ML/AI techniques that use CBC data in rapid diagnosis and projection of LiB state of health (SOH) to motivate the scientific community in collecting and using CBC data to facilitate expeditious technology development and validation.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Applying Utility's Advanced Grid Technologies to Improve Resiliency of a Critical Load

The US DOE Office of Electricity's Energy Storage Program's joint R&D work with the Cordova Electric Cooperative (CEC) has deployed several advanced grid technologies that are providing benefits today to Cordova Alaska's electricity users. Advanced grid technologies deployed through DoE co-funded R&D include a 1MW Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), and enhanced monitoring including Phasor Measurement Units (PMU's) to help better understand the operational impacts of the added BESS. This paper will highlight key accomplishments to-date in deploying and using advanced grid technologies, and then outline the next phase of work that will use these technologies to implement an operating scheme to reconfigure the utility's distribution system and utility resources including BESS to provide emergency back-up power to a critical load: the Cordova Community Medical Center (CCMC). This paper will include additional insights on the use of utility resources to support critical loads via case study examples by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Assoc. (NRECA).

BESS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Batteries Annual Progress Report (FY2019)

The Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) of the Department of Energy (DOE) conducts research and development (R&D) on advanced transportation technologies that would reduce the nation’s use of imported oil and would also lead to reductions in harmful emissions. Technologies supported by VTO include electric drive components such as advanced energy storage devices (primarily batteries), power electronics and electric drive motors, advanced structural materials, energy efficient mobility systems, advanced combustion engines, and fuels. VTO is focused on funding early-stage high-reward/high-risk research to improve critical components needed for more fuel efficient (and cleaner-operating) vehicles. One of the major VTO objectives is to enable U.S. innovators to rapidly develop the next generation of technologies that achieve the cost, range, and charging infrastructure necessary for the widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). An important prerequisite for the electrification of the nation’s light duty transportation sector is development of more cost-effective, longer lasting, and more abuse-tolerant PEV batteries. One of the ultimate goals of this research, consistent with the current vehicle electrification trend, is an EV which can provide the full driving performance, convenience, and price of an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. To achieve this, VTO has established the following overarching goal (Source: FY2021 Congressional Budget Justification1): …identify new battery chemistry and cell technologies with the potential to reduce the cost of electric vehicle battery packs by more than half, to less than $100/kWh (ultimate goal is $60/kWh battery cell cost), increase range to 300 miles, and decrease charge time to 15 minutes or less by 2028. VTO works with key U.S. automakers through the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) – an umbrella organization for collaborative research consisting of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), the Ford Motor Company, and General Motors. Collaboration with automakers through the partnership known as U.S. Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle Efficiency and Energy Sustainability (U.S. DRIVE) attempts to enhance the relevance and the success potential of its research portfolio. VTO competitively selects projects for funding through funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). Directly-funded work at the national laboratories are awarded competitively through a lab-call process. During the past year, VTO continued R&D in support of PEVs. Stakeholders for VTO R&D include universities, national laboratories, other government agencies and industry (including automakers, battery manufacturers, material suppliers, component developers, private research firms, and small businesses). This document summarizes the progress of VTO battery R&D projects supported during the fiscal year 2019 (FY 2019).

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Future Battery Material Demand Analysis Based on U.S. Department of Energy R&D Targets

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) supports research, development, and deployment of efficient, sustainable transportation technologies that will improve energy efficiency and fuel economy, and enable America to use less petroleum. To accelerate the development and adoption of new technologies, VTO has developed specific targets for a wide range of powertrain components, including the energy storage system. In this study, we use Autonomie, Argonne National Laboratory’s (Argonne’s) vehicle system simulation tool to evaluate future energy storage requirements (power, energy, etc.) for different vehicle classes, powertrains, component technologies and timeframes. BatPac, Argonne’s tool dedicated to energy storage pack design and costs, is then used to quantify the materials required for each pack. Market penetrations are then used to estimate the overall material demand worldwide and in the United States, with or without recycling. The results demonstrate that the positive impact of VTO research and development will lead to significant reduction in material compared to business-as-usual due to new anode and cathode designs, along with acceleration in battery cell chemistry penetrations. In terms of material demands, it is observed that lithium demand reaches about 80,000 tons (by a factor of 42–45), nickel demand reaches about 500,000 tons (by a factor of 47–56), manganese demand reaches about 30,000–50,000 tons (by a factor of 20–34), and cobalt demand reaches about 30,000 tons (by a factor of 13–28) in the future by 2050. The individual material demand per unit energy, however, decreases significantly in the future due to advances in VTO research and development activities. The increase in battery material demands is mostly driven by increased electrified vehicle fleet penetration in the markets.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Physical Interpretation of Early Battery Life Prediction Models

Early battery life prediction models are most useful for R&D if they help us understand the early changes in battery electrochemical response that correspond with long-term degradation and failure. Linear regression models such as Fused lasso and Partial Least Squares can fit coefficients directly to high-dimensional electrochemical data like capacity-voltage and ΔV–state-of-charge, i.e., Q(V) and ΔV(SOC) curves, learning coefficients that can be physically interpreted. We leverage the ISU-ILCC battery aging data set to learn high-dimensional coefficients for early battery life prediction from traditional slow-rate capacity check data, demonstrating learning on Q(V), d Q· d V −1 , and ΔV(SOC) curves. A thorough study on the dependence of coefficient values on train/test size and data preprocessing methods is made, demonstrating the reliability of high-dimensional regression approaches unless very small amounts of data are used for model training. For this data set, coefficients from Q(V) and d Q· d V −1 models highlight changes in electrode stoichiometry due to lithium loss, while ΔV(SOC) coefficients highlight changes in positive electrode diffusivity due to particle cracking as well as electrode stoichiometry shifts. By directly interpreting the coefficients of a regression model, we make physical insights into battery degradation mechanisms without requiring the assumptions of traditional battery data analysis methods.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1974

Bio-isolated DC operational amplifier

Possibility of shocks from leakage currents can be reduced by use of isolated preamplifiers. Amplifier consists of battery-powered operational amplifier coupled by means of light-emitting diodes to another amplifier which may be grounded and operated from ac power mains or separate battery supply.

Lee, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Biomedical ultrasonoscope

An instrument with a single ultrasonic transducer probe and a linear array of transducer probes permitting three operator modes is described. An 'A' and an 'M' mode scanner were combined with a 'C' mode scanner and a single receiver is used. The 'C' scanner mode enables two-dimensional cross sections of the viewed organ. Video-produced markers enable measurement of the dimensions of the heart. COS/MOS integrated logic circuit components are used to minimize power consumption and permit battery operation.

Lee, R. D.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Hybrid Energy Systems: Opportunities for Coordinated Research

This chapter presents a baseline assessment of DOE’s current portfolio related to hybrid systems that produce electricity as their only output (Track 1), within the context of the key challenges facing these systems. Of particular importance is that this chapter is focused on understanding what makes a hybrid different from two standalone technologies, both in terms of the research being performed and the challenges that ongoing and planned research will seek to overcome. The purpose of summarizing and describing current research areas is to identify opportunities DOE could consider supporting in the near term. DOE encompasses several offices, each of which has unique objectives and is financially constrained. Additionally, the emergence of low-cost hybrid resources presents an array of new opportunities for the electricity sector, including better managing and allocating risk, improving operating performance, reducing system costs, and enhancing reliability and resilience. Realizing these opportunities will require overcoming barriers to the deployment of hybrids through targeted R&D which multiple DOE offices can invest in and benefit from.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

JUST-R metrics for considering energy justice in early-stage energy research

We report achieving sustainable decarbonization of the energy sector requires implementing and improving energy technologies while simultaneously managing sources of social inequity in the energy system. Centering energy justice, which has "the goal of achieving equity in both the social and economic participation in the energy system, while also remediating social, economic, and health burdens on those historically harmed by the energy system," in the transition to clean energy has become an increasingly urgent priority for social scientists, policymakers, and community activists alike. However, late-stage consideration of social impacts of energy technologies may result in identifying inequities only after substantial time, money, and effort have been expended on research and development (R&D). This issue is exemplified by concerns over environmental and human health impacts related to cobalt in lithium-ion batteries, which has spurred research into alternatives only after decades of R&D and the establishment of supply chains, infrastructure, and markets for cobalt-containing chemistries. Other examples include issues with land use and resource consumption related to first-generation biofuel feedstocks as well as occupational hazards and pollution associated with photovoltaics manufacturing. In all these cases, subsequent R&D to improve technologies or processes cannot undo the effects already experienced. Incorporating energy justice from the earliest stage of R&D will enable more just technology implementation, but integrating justice considerations into early-stage research is a challenge due to a lack of tools to assess and manage them. To fill this gap, we center early-stage research to develop the Justice Underpinning Science and Technology Research (JUST-R) metrics framework - energy justice metrics specifically targeted at early-stage researchers to assess their work on an immediate timescale. By applying these metrics to a case study focused on materials for next-generation photovoltaics, we highlight potential benefits and barriers to implementing this framework in early-stage research and discuss necessary institutional and individual actions needed for researchers to effectively leverage the tool to incorporate justice-focused criteria into R&D decision making.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

The phantom menace of dynamic soft-shorts in solid-state battery research

Solid-state batteries with lithium metal anodes present the highest energy density batteries for applications in electric vehicles, leading to massive R&D investments over the past decade. Although most research focuses on preventing lithium metal dendrites that eventually short the battery, the nature of these shorts remains elusive. Soft-shorts, in particular, receive little attention or are not recognized, even in published data. Here, in this study, we present a comprehensive outline of the detection and analysis of soft -shorts in solid-state lithium metal cells with composite polymer electrolytes as well as a fundamental understanding of the dynamics of soft -shorts. Transient un-shorting of soft -shorts that occurs on the micro-to-millisecond timescale-driven by joule heating, chemical reactivity, and other processes-limits one's ability to determine whether the cell was or is still shorted. We provide numerous experimental methods to detect and analyze soft-shorts in any battery type as a resource to all battery researchers.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fission Battery Initiative: Research and Development Plan

The Fission Battery Initiative has been established by the Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL’s) Nuclear Science and Technology Directorate [6] to define, focus, and coordinate research and development (R&D) of technologies that can fully achieve battery-like functionality for nuclear energy systems. The notion of a “fission battery” conveys a vision focused on realizing very simple “plug-and-play” nuclear systems that can be integrated into a variety of applications requiring affordable, reliable energy in the form of electricity and/or heat and function without operations and maintenance staff. In order to formalize the desired functionality, the initiative has adopted the following key attributes to be achieved: economic, standardized, installed, unattended and reliable

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2023

North American Lithium-Ion Battery Supply Chain Database Development - Phase II

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are used in a wide range of applications, including cell phones, laptops, power tools, electric vehicles, and grid storage, and are essential for economic growth and addressing climate change. However, the significant demand for LIBs has led to supply chain issues for the United States, as China dominates the processing of battery materials and battery production. To address this concern, NAATBatt International, a trade association of North American battery companies, supported the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in developing a database of companies that mine, process, manufacture, reuse, and recycle batteries in North America. The purpose of this database was to identify strengths and gaps in the supply chain, so that private-government partnerships could develop strategies to create a competitive LIB supply chain in the US. NREL published the first version of this database in 2021 and the second version in 2022. The database includes companies that have a manufacturing facility in North America and are engaged in materials, cells, packs, end-of-life management, as well as those involved in LIB battery modeling, distribution, service and repair, and R&D. In this presentation, we will discuss our approach to collecting data and categorizing various segments and products. We will also provide a summary of the data and present various maps to illustrate the distribution of companies in the database.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1978

USAF nickel hydrogen cell

Air Force activities in nickel hydrogen battery research were summarized. The latest developments for the past year were discussed and applications of the nickel hydrogen batteries were reviewed.

Warnock, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A differential approach to microcomputer test battery development and implementation

The present microcomputer-based performance test battery emphasizes psychometric theory and utility for repeated-measures applications during extended exposure to various environmental stressors. In the menu that has been defined at the current state of this system's development, there are more than 30 'qualified' mental tests which stabilize in less than 10 min and possess test-retest reliabilities greater than 0.7 for a three-minute test/work period. The battery encompasses tests of cognition, information processing, psychomotor skill, memory, mood, etc. Several of the tests have demonstrated sensitivity to chemoradiotherapy, sleep loss, hypoxia, amphetamines, thermal stress, sensory deprivation, altitude, fatigue, and alcohol use. Recommendations are presented for 6-, 12-, and 22-min batteries.

Kennedy, R. S.↗