Safe High Density Undersea Power Source Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2016.1 Topic No.: N161-030 Topic Title: Safe High Density Undersea Power Source Proposal No.: N161-030-0037 Firm: OpenWater Power 28 Dane St Somerville, Massachusetts 2143 Contact: Tom Milnes Phone: (978) 578-5864 Web Site: http://www.openwaterpower.com Abstract: Open Water Power proposes to develop a long-life, inherently safe power system based on its proprietary aluminum-seawater electrochemical technology. The primary objective of Phase I is to investigate the feasibility of developing fully functional, drop-in replacement battery modules for the SWSS array. These systems are anticipated to operate seamlessly with existing SWSS designs but provide multiples times more energy while being safer and easier to handle. A Phase II effort would involve developing and testing both bench-top and in-water prototypes. Open Water's Al-H2O system leverages the base-mediated oxidation of a depassivated, corrosion-resistant alloy (e.g. Al99.76Ga.12In.14), with seawater taken from the ocean environment serving as an oxidizer. This chemistry has been demonstrated in a 30W power stack with direct-seawater injection and a passive Al(OH)3 flush. To date, an energy density superior to that of lithium-thionyl chloride cells has been demonstrated by Open Water's architecture on a cell level. Benefits: The primary advantage conferred by Open Water's technology is a dramatic increase in energy density over competing technologies. We have demonstrated performance at the cell level of 8 MJ/L, which is nearly a 10x improvement over lithium-ion based systems currently used in underwater systems. In addition to its extremely high energy density, the Al-H2O system compares favorably to other power systems in terms of safety and operability. Unlike most Li-based chemistries, the Al-H2O system is pressure and temperature tolerant, and passively safe when wet or dry. This means it can be shipped, handled and stored without risk to personnel or assets. Since the Al-H2O cell is manufactured without the liquid electrolyte component, it is safe and legal to ship by air at any wattage level. Even after activation it has only a modest toxicity profile-comparable to household alkaline batteries. Tests performed under at the NSWC Carderock facility showed `No hazards observed' for fire, high & low temperature, and low & near-zero pressure exposure. Finally, despite being a primary cell (unlike lithium-ion, which is rechargeable), the total cost of operation of Open Water's power sources is comparable to or lower than that of current technology. Return