Navy looks to BST Systems and EaglePicher for silver-zinc battery technology for undersea systems
CRANE, Ind. – U.S. Navy underwater warfare experts are working with two battery companies to provide rechargeable 750 AMP per hour silver-zinc battery cells for a deep submergence application on various undersea vehicles.
Officials of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division in Crane, Ind., announced a potential $12.5 million contract to BST Systems Inc. in Plainfield, Conn., and to EaglePicher Technologies LLC in Joplin, Mo., last week for undersea batteries and support equipment.
BST and EaglePicher will compete for battery orders over the next five years collectively worth $12.5 million. The companies will provide rechargeable 750 AMP per hour silver-oxide zinc battery cells, spare parts kits, and engineering support services related to the silver-oxide zinc cells.
A silver-oxide battery is a primary cell with a very high energy-to-weight ratio. It is available as a button cell, or in large custom-designed version where the superior performance of the silver-oxide chemistry outweighs cost considerations.
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These large silver-oxide cells typically are in military applications like torpedoes, submarines, and other undersea uses. Large silver-oxide battery cells also are aboard manned and unmanned spacecraft as reserve batteries.
A silver–zinc battery uses a variation of silver-oxide chemistry, and can deliver one of the highest specific energies of all known electrochemical power sources, and typically can be found in military specialized applications.
On this contract BST Systems will do the work in Plainfield, Conn., while EaglePicher will do its work in East Greenwich, R.I. The companies will be finished by February 2023.
For more information contact BST Systems online at www.bstsys.com, EaglePicher at www.eaglepicher.com, or the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division at www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NSWC-Crane.
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John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
