US Navy battery requirements and development efforts

• Main Authors: Smith, P.H., James, S.D., Keller, P.B.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Batteries; Costs; Lithium; Oceans; Power supplies; Sea measurements; Sea surface; Silver; Underwater vehicles; Zinc
• DOI: 10.1109/BCAA.1995.398513

Under the sponsorship of the Office of Naval Research, the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) is the focal point for exploratory battery development within the United States Navy. During the 1993 survey, we identified four Navy systems requiring battery developments, namely sonobuoys, mines, underwater vehicles and torpedoes. Power supply inadequacies were found to be the result of two important factors, a shift in Navy focus from deep ocean waters to the more complex, littoral (coastal) environments, and an increased emphasis on the cost effectiveness of a system in an era of reduced military budgets. The survey revealed the following issues. (1) Future sonobuoys will require significantly greater power than the presently used lithium/sulfur dioxide batteries can provide. (2) There is concern in the mine community over the future availability of specific batteries. (3) In the case of underwater vehicles (including torpedo targets), there is a desire for a more cost-effective power source having a greater energy density than the presently used silver oxide/zinc cells. (4) Enhanced energy density was requested by the torpedo community to provide increased operational time. As expected, safety and environmental issues were of concern to participants responding to the survey. This paper will discuss the recommendations of the power needs survey and summarize efforts underway to implement them.< >