The new portable Zinc Air battery pack will be 12 or 24 Volt and have a total capacity of approximately 400Wh. Battery Energy Density will be above 300Wh/kg. The second and third phases of the program are optional.
The research program is aimed at the Future Force Warrior project - the US Army's flagship Science and Technology initiative to develop and demonstrate revolutionary capabilities for Future Force soldier systems.
The 3rd generation cells now in production for the Electric Fuel BA-8180/U military zinc air battery are mono-cells (single air cathode) with plastic casing encapsulating the anodic zinc reactant. The new 4th generation bi-cell (dual air cathode) will utilize a folded air cathode without plastic casing material, increasing the respective energy density. The power density is expected to double.
"Our current Zinc Air battery technology already out-performs competing battery technologies," said Robert S. Ehrlich, Arotech Chairman and CEO. "Our goal for the new Electric Fuel cell is for it to become the building block of a new generation of batteries with more energy, to better serve our armed forces."