NASA SBIR 2008 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
TDA Research, Inc.
12345 W. 52nd Avenue
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 - 1916
(303) 940-2347

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
John Olson
jolson@tda.com
12345 W. 52nd Avenue
Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 - 1916
(303) 261-1122

Expected Technology Readiness Level (TRL) upon completion of contract: 3

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (Limit 2000 characters, approximately 200 words)
Lithium-ion batteries are slowly being introduced into satellite power systems, but their life still presents concerns for longer duration missions. Future NASA goals for retuning to the Moon and the manned exploration of Mars will demand increased specific energy and life from batteries. The properties of the graphite anode, and in particular the 'solid electrolyte interface' (SEI) layer, are key focus areas for advancement. Improving the lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery anode for both life and specific energy are the goals of this proposed research.

Nanocomposite Carbon/Silicon anodes for Li-ion batteries will be produced that can be safely used at high charge/discharge rates, have high specific capacity and a long cycle life. Silicon nanoparticles will be contained in an engineered nanoporous carbon matrix and have room to expand and contract, thus preventing deleterious interphase formation. Phase I is expected to achieve a TRL of 2 and will demonstrate the performance and feasibility of the new anode. Phase II will achieve a TRL of 3 and will successfully scale up the synthesis as well as demonstrate improved performance with commercial cell prototypes.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
The solicitation is specifically aimed at exploration applications (landers, rovers and extravehicular activities). Development of new, high performance anodes as proposed here could benefit all these applications with lower weight and volume, decreased cost and increased safety. We plan to partner with MeadWestvaco to manufacture the anode materials domestically. MeadWestvaco is one of the leading carbon manufacturers in the world and we have existing joint venture agreements for development of our engineered pore size activated carbons for ultracapacitors. In addition, we will partner with Quallion, a leader in high quality Li-ion battery manufacture, to produce commercial cell prototypes. Quallion was awarded a Title III program in 2006 to develop domestic sources of materials for Li-ion batteries for satellites.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words)
Shifting transportation energy sources from CO2 generating imported oil to clean domestic electricity generation will decrease global warming and increase national security. In addition to electric and hybrid electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries are used in many consumer electronic devices such as cell phones, cameras, laptops, etc. Improved carbon nanocomposite anode materials are needed to improve the performance and decrease the cost of lithium-ion batteries for all these applications.

NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING

Energy Storage