US Army battery needs-present and future

The purpose of this paper is to describe the needs of the US Army for silent portable power sources, both in the near and longer term future. As a means of doing this, the programs of the Power Sources Division of the Army Research Laboratory are discussed. The chief future needs for portable power sources for the US Army are: high energy density primary batteries to serve as the next generation of general purpose C41 high energy density batteries, as well as maximum energy density batteries for use in selected applications; improved rechargeable batteries for use during training and by Special Operations personnel, as well as state of charge indication for both primary and rechargeable batteries; improved reserve/fuze batteries for use in lithium-based and longer-lived batteries for smart munitions; pulse power batteries and capacitors for evaluation in the electrothermal gun application, and to provide pulse power for vehicle acceleration, tank starting, and other similar applications; portable fuel cell systems operating in the 10-150 W range, capable of orientation independent operation; and silent portable power generating systems, capable of operating on diesel fuel, such as efficient thermophotovoltaic systems