Published By National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Issued about 9 years ago
Summary
Description
This small business innovation research is intended to develop and proof the concept of a highly efficient, high temperature rechargeable battery for supporting Venus exploration missions. The proposed battery will be built upon a tubular, alkali metal ion-conducting, highly refractor, beta"-alumina-solid-electrolyte (BASE) sandwiched between an alkali metal anode and a metal salt cathode. In Phase I, BASE tubes possessing high strength, highly conductive, and high resistance to moisture and carbon dioxide attack will be fabricated and optimized using a novel coupled-transport process. Upon assembly with suitable electrochemical couples, battery cells will be tested and evaluated in a temperature range from 450:C to 600:C, followed by performance optimization.