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Nickel-Hydrogen (Ni-H2) batteries have an extensive database of successful operation in aerospace applications requiring long life, no maintenance, and extremely high reliability. In the common pressure vessel (CPV) design configuration, the life cycle cost of the system is actually lower than that of lead acid and other competing battery technologies. This cost advantage can be directly attributed to the long life, exceeding 10,000 deep discharge cycles, and no maintenance capabilities of the CPV Nickel-Hydrogen battery. As a result the CPV has significant market potential in terrestrial applications such as load leveling, remote energy storage, and aircraft starting.

The multicell common pressure vessel (CPV) nickel-hydrogen (Ni-H2) battery manufactured by Johnson Controls Battery Group, Inc. has completed full flight qualification, including random vibration at 19.5 g for two minutes in each axis, electrical characterization in a thermal vacuum chamber, and mass-spectroscopy vessel leak detection. A first launch is scheduled in 1992. Several new design variations, ranging from 9 Ah to 125 Ah and 12 to 32 volts, in 12.7 cm (5″) and 25.4 cm (10″) diameter vessels have been developed and prototypes fabricated for a variety of customers. Designs for smaller capacity, smaller diameter (6.4-8.9 cm) and higher voltage (up to 100 volts) are in progress. The CPV battery offers cost and weight savings of up to 30% as compared to traditional nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) and individual pressure vessel (IPV) Ni-H2 batteries. The fully qualified design provided a 50% weight savings over its Ni-Cd predecessor for the same application.

Johnson Controls, Inc. has developed a multiple cell CPV Nickel Hydrogen battery that offers significant weight, volume and cost advantages for aerospace applications. The baseline design was successfully demonstrated through the testing of a 26-cell prototype, which completed over 7,000 44% depth-of-discharge LEO cycles at COMSAT Laboratories. Prototype designs using both nominal 5″ and 10″ diameter vessels are currently being developed for a variety of space and aircraft applications. Nickel Hydrogen batteries are well established as an energy storage subsystem for commercial communication satellites. The standard design has been the Individual Pressure Vessel (IPV), which provides an independent vessel for each cell of the battery. The comparative advantages of a Common Pressure Vessel (CPV) design configuration, in which many series connected cells are contained in a single vessel, are widely recognized.