Posted by Courtney E. Howard
LITTLE FALLS, N.J., 9 Dec. 2010. mPhase Technologies Inc. has completed the technical work under the Phase 2 STTR grant awarded by the U.S. Army for the multi-cell Smart NanoBattery. The team has completed work sponsored by the Army Research Office, which funds innovative research projects such as miniature energy storage designs. The STTR funding enabled the mPhase technical team to develop functional prototypes and to conduct detailed analysis of the novel multi-cell reserve battery designs, reveals a company representative.
The funding enabled the mPhase team to create a substantial IP portfolio and to achieve Technical Readiness Level (TRL) 4/5. The original Smart Nanobattery design and technology used in its implementation progressed to the extent that they now meet the criteria for prototype testing in both laboratory and simulated deployment environments.
The completed Smart Nanobattery is based on a complex MEMS (microelectromechanical system) device consisting of layers of silicon and glass fabricated to the exact specifications of the mPhase team by its commercial foundry partner. The mPhase team finished the assembly by populating each battery with the electrode stacks of lithium and carbon monofluoride materials (Li/CFx), that delivered 3 volts per cell.
Each cell in the battery has long shelf life, until it is activated via a technique called electrowetting, which gives the mPhase reserve battery one of its key attributes: programmable triggering.
The development of the Smart NanoBattery has been undertaken with funding support from a Phase II STTR Army award. mPhase is working to secure additional funds to optimize the battery's design and increase the technical level of development toward commercial opportunities for defense and commercial applications.
The company's scalable smart reserve cell technology is one of the items in the current Defense Appropriations Bill that has been passed by the United States House of Representatives and is awaiting final action by the United States Senate.
In addition to the Smart Surface technology, mPhase introduced its first product: the mPower Emergency Illuminator, an award-winning product designed by Porsche Design Studio and sold via the mPower Web site.
