New Material: The Ultrahigh Density Battery Vest Developed By Amprius Can Provide Double Energy For Warfighters

Amprius on 2022 It began to ship its silicon anode battery with excellent performance in, and won the highest density battery cell in the world. Now, it is focusing on a unique application case: providing wearable batteries of military specifications for warfighters.

The idea is simple: future soldiers need to carry the maximum energy with the minimum weight to provide energy for a large number of mission critical electrical hardware they wear, hide and carry on the battlefield. Amprius It claims that the operation time of its ultra-high density battery will be twice that of the existing solution, so that soldiers can stay in the field for a longer time without stopping to charge.

The U.S. Army is developing the next generation wearable conformal battery (CWB), which will provide integrated power for soldiers' integrated vision enhancement systems and other mission critical communication devices, sensors, wearable electronic devices, as well as some hardware that may only be thought of by science fiction writers today. The design concept of this battery is to use a single streamlined power supply to replace the batteries of specific items with different shapes and sizes. This single streamlined power supply adopts a thin and flexible structural design, which can fit perfectly with the human body.

Inventus Power, which produces the current generation of conformal wearable batteries, is one of the four defense contractors selected to participate in the order competition in 2021. Amprius is responsible for Inventus is one of the battery experts who provide high-energy batteries, and Enovix is also one of them. This year, the company 1 In June, it was announced that the first batch shipment of silicon anode safe lithium batteries for the project had been completed. This week, it was confirmed that batteries would be provided for the further development of CWB battery packs.

Dr. Sun Kang, CEO of Amprius, said in the announcement on Thursday: "This battery pack integration marks that we have made significant progress in providing ground power solutions for the U.S. Army The SiMaxx safety battery is famous for its high energy density and safety characteristics, and will play a vital role in improving the mission time and reliability of the lower mounted soldiers. "

Secret ingredient: Amprius said its silicon nanowire configuration can better adapt to silicon expansion and provide conductive paths for ions and electrons

SiMaxx is the latest brand name of the battery structure created by Amprius Company, which replaces the traditional graphite anode with silicon with nanowire structure. Silicon can hold up to 10 The nanowire structure can better adapt to the volume expansion and contraction in the process of ion movement, thus preventing silicon degradation.

Verified by Mobile Power Solutions in 2023, the energy density of SiMaxx battery reaches 500 Wh/kg (weight) and 1300 Wh/kg (volume). When Amprius started shipping in 2022, the initial estimated energy density was 450 Wh/kg and 1150 Wh/kg respectively Wh/kg。 Although we have seen the release of other 500 Wh/kg batteries, some even exceed 700 Wh/kg in the laboratory environment, SiMaxx The battery is still the highest density battery we have ever seen and can be shipped.

Compared with existing military battery solutions, SiMaxx This super energy density of the battery can double the energy of the battery pack without increasing the weight or volume of the battery pack. In this way, soldiers can perform longer tasks without stopping to recharge.

Last year, 390 Wh/kg SiMaxx with gel polymer electrolyte The battery iteration product passed the nail penetration test required by the US military, which is a crucial step for the batteries worn by soldiers facing potential bullets, shrapnel and other battlefield hazards. The battery pack will be integrated with the body armor and can be worn on the chest, side or back.

Amprius SiMaxx battery is a ready to use lithium battery cell with the highest energy density

The CWB program that the Army plans to implement by May 2030 also helps Amprius Increased production capacity. According to the ManTech program funded by the US Army, the company completed the expansion of production scale before shipping the first batch of CWB batteries in January. four In January, it completed the tool qualification process, increasing the capacity of the Fremont plant in California to 2 MWh. The second production base in Colorado is expected to be in 2025 When it is put into production in, the company's production capacity will reach gigawatt hours.

In addition to high-power wearable devices, Amprius Its battery technology has also aroused the interest of the electric aviation, satellite and UAV industries, and it has shone brilliantly in the solar car challenge, winning the top four in last year's competition. Although we haven't heard any specific electric vehicle plan yet, the company mentioned that the electric vehicle field is a future market, and it is expected to apply its silicon anode battery to Tesla Model 3 battery pack, EPA range will be increased from 310 miles (500 kilometers) to 547 miles (880 kilometers).