50 to 100-Ah Lithium Ion Cells for Aircraft and Spacecraft Applications

As a part of a program jointly supported by the USAF and Canada's Department of National Defense, BlueStar is developing large (50 to 100-Ah)lithium ion cells for aircraft and spacecraft applications. Presently, 20-Ah cells are being developed as the first stage of the scale-up process and the design of these cells involves several tradeoffs related to the specific nature of this application. This paper will present the design of this first generation cell in the context of these tradeoffs as well as presenting the results of the performance and life testing of these cells.