The Department of Defense (DOD) is seeking proposals for the topic of "Naval Shipboard Embedded Battery Containment System" as part of their SBIR 24.1 BAA solicitation. The objective of this research is to develop a shipboard containment system for embedded lithium batteries that can support large batteries scaling up to the megawatt (MW) and MW-hour (MWh) scales. The containment system should provide protection from shock, vibration, fire, overpressure, and other threats, while also allowing for modular construction to minimize propagation potential.
The research aims to design robust and rugged enclosures that can be easily installed in locations populated by personnel and sensitive equipment. The containment structures should be universally useful and adaptable to various battery designs, without substantially affecting the power and energy density of the storage systems. The proposed enclosure should consider conditions of release, including thermal flux, overpressures, and flame effects, and include a directed ventilation approach for gas release. The design should support devices with voltages up to 1000VDC and power capabilities up to 1MW, with penetrations for cabling and cooling provisions.
The project will be conducted in three phases. Phase I involves advanced modeling and analysis to define the energetic characteristics of cascading battery failure conditions and the development of a conceptual design. Phase II focuses on scaling the enclosure design to relevant size, defining interface points, and building and validating the complete containment equipment. Phase III involves designing and building full-scale flexible rack-mount enclosures for a specific military application, meeting MIL-SPEC requirements, and conducting detailed evaluations and test events.
The successful development of a scalable and cost-effective enclosure scheme will enable the implementation of lighter and more compact energy storage systems on a greater number of platforms and operational equipment. The technology has potential dual-use applications in commercial marine large-scale battery applications. The solicitation is closed, and more information can be found on the DOD SBIR website.