Electro Energy to Develop Battery for HAA

Electro Energy Inc. (EEEI) of Danbury, Connecticut, has received a contract from Lockheed Martin’s Defense and Surveillance Systems business of Akron, Ohio, to develop very high specific energy battery cells for the High Altitude Airship (HAA™) program. Under the contract EEEI will develop an advanced, lightweight, rechargeable lithium-ion battery to help power the HAA, an unmanned, lighter-than-air vehicle that will operate in a geostationary position to provide communication and navigation services for civilian and military purposes.

EEEI (its NASDAQ name) is collaborating with Rutgers University’s Energy Storage Research Group to incorporate advanced materials into its bipolar wafer cell technology to achieve improved battery “specific energy” or energy per unit mass. The goal is to achieve significantly higher specific energy than current state-of-the-art batteries in support of this next-generation airship.

The EEEI bipolar wafer cell lithium-ion design provides high energy capability with reduced volume and weight. Compared to conventional batteries this design provides lower cost, increased energy density, longer life and improved reliability. In addition, the design allows the battery to be configured in multiple geometries to fit into small areas and conform to other specialized designs.