Powerful Battery Cell Nails Military Safety Test.

• Author: Easley, Mikayla

ARLINGTON, Virginia--A new battery cell could help give soldiers the power they need to run their equipment on the go--without the risk of it exploding if the battery is ever hit.

California-based Amprius Technologies recently announced that the company's polymer electrolyte cell successfully passed a military-specific nail penetration test conducted by an independent third-party lab. The 390-watt-hour-per-kilogram cell increases a lithium-ion battery's energy density while simultaneously keeping the weight of the entire battery low, according to a company executive.

"That's extremely desirable for the Army because now... soldiers have more and more electronics on them so more and more power is needed," said Ionel Stefan, chief technology officer at Amprius Technologies. "But the battery still needs to have exactly the same [amount of] safety as previous batteries."

The safety tests demonstrated that the electrolyte cell would not react violently--or at all--if punctured, Stefan said. Furthermore, the battery still worked properly even after being hit, he added.

"Assume that, for example, a soldier's battery is shot at or penetrated by shrapnel. The soldier probably wouldn't be in good shape also," he said. "If the battery still functions, the soldier has time to call for help or an automatic call gets generated by the equipment."

Amprius'...