Saft Wins FELIN Battery Contract
23 January 2006 10:03
Saft has been awarded a contract by Sagem Défense Sécurité (part of the Safran Group) to develop the new generation rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery packs that will power the French Army's infantryman of the future (FELIN).
This initial contract award by Sagem is for a study and development phase, in which Saft will design, develop and test specialised, ruggedised high-performance Li-ion battery packs for FELIN, as well as supplying small batches for product qualification.
"This contract reinforces Saft's position as the leading supplier of advanced technology battery systems for infantry applications," said John Searle, CEO and managing director of Saft. "We are proud to work with Sagem Défense Sécurité to support the French Army in making a major change from primary to rechargeable batteries."
In developing the FELIN battery packs, to be supplied ready to plug-and-go with integrated control electronics and connectors, Saft will address many of the same energy storage and management challenges presented by mobile telephony and microcomputer systems, but with the added need to ensure they will provide safe, reliable operation over the extreme range of shocks, temperatures and humidity encountered in a typical field mission as well as meeting NBC (Nuclear Bacteriological Chemical) criteria. A further major requirement is for EMC (Electromagnetic Compatibility) both in emission and susceptibility. The packs will also have to withstand lightning and the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear explosion.
The FELIN packs will be based on Saft's MP series of Lithium-ion cells that are used in many civilian and military portable and standby applications where fail-safe operation is essential. A key advantage of the MP cell is its unique flat, prismatic shape which gives it an extremely efficient packing efficiency by eliminating volume lost when conventional cylindrical cells are packed together - a pack of prismatic cells has some 20 per cent higher volumetric energy density than an equivalent pack of cylindrical cells. Saft's lithium-ion electrochemistry, which uses a graphite negative electrode and lithiated cobalt oxide positive electrode, is optimised to operate over the temperature range: -40°C to +60°C (in discharge). Another vital factor is that the cell will still retain 95 per cent of its charge after one month's storage. The MP cells also offer a long service life and will retain a high percentage of their initial capacity after 500 charge-discharge cycles.
For more information on this company:
Saft - Lithium Cells and Battery Packs
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