Detailed technical background of thermal batteries

What is a thermal battery based on?

Thermal batteries based on Li and Li-alloy anodes are the current mainstay power sources for military applications (e.g., missiles and bombs) and for nuclear weapons because of their inherent almost indefinite storage life, high reliability, and high-power capabilities.

What is a thermally activated battery?

Thermally activated (“thermal”) batteries are primary batteries that use molten salts as electrolytes and employ an internal pyrotechnic (heat) source to bring the battery stack to operating temperatures. They are primarily used for military applications, such as missiles and ordnance, and in nuclear weapons.

Who invented thermal batteries?

Thermal batteries were conceived and developed by German scientists during WW II and were used in the V2 rockets . The batteries used exhaust heat from the rocket to keep the electrolyte molten in the battery during the missile's mission. Dr. Georg Otto Erb is credited with developing this technology.

How long does a thermal battery last?

Ideally, the U.S. Navy would like to have a thermal battery that would last up to four hours (or more). The best performance attained with today’s technology is a little over two hours. The biggest challenge facing the use of thermal batteries for long-term sonobuoy use is thermal management.

How does a thermal battery work?

emperature range.Our thermal batteries are completely inert and non-reactiv until activated. Once activated, the battery functions until the critical active material is exhausted or until the battery cools below the electrolyte’s melting point, ensuring full mission functional

What is the power density of a thermal battery?

The power densities of thermal batteries tend to be somewhat modest, however, due to the high hardware overhead associated with them, especially the pyrotechnic weight. Typical values for several modern thermal batteries are compared to other battery technologies in Table 1.