mPhase
Technologies, Inc. has announced that it has been selected in
a competitive process by the US Army for a Phase 1, Small Business
Technology Transfer Grant, along with its collaborator, Rutgers
University’s Energy Storage Research Group. The first stage
of the award is to implement and characterize a lithium chemistry based
version of the smart micro cell reserve battery to provide long term
continuous power for a static RAM memory circuit for a computer device.
According to the award, the “Long shelf life, high
power, multicell battery' submitted to the Army Small Business
Technology Transfer (STTR) program, has been competitively selected,
with the award period to begin immediately.” The objective of
the project is to “develop a low-power miniature (coin cell
or similar) battery with a 30-plus year operational lifespan that is
suitable for battery-backed static random access memory (SRAM) and
environmentally friendly with minimal disposal issues.”
“We are pleased that army researchers have
recognized the potential of our micro reserve battery to meet the
Army’s need for a fundamental improvement in energy
storage,” said Ron Durando, mPhase Technologies, CEO.
“We are just scratching the surface of potential military
applications for our battery technology.”
The technology currently being developed by
mPhase/AlwaysReady, in conjunction with Rutgers University, promises to
help transform the way the electronics industry currently looks at
microbattery applications.
AlwaysReady and its technologies will have a number of
exceptional advantages in its two initial products: a
“smart” battery capable of producing current on
demand after long term storage, as well as a family of uncooled
magnetometers, including ultra sensitive versions capable of hundreds
of times’ improvement in sensitivity over currently available
designs.
Another immediate application for the defense and security
sector for the micro reserve battery is as an energy source to power
remote sensors in areas lacking electricity. The prototype battery is
based on a discovery that liquid droplets of electrolyte will stay in a
dormant state atop microscopic structures until stimulated to flow,
thereby triggering a reaction producing electricity. This
super-hydrophobic effect of liquids can permit precise control and
activation of the batteries when required.