Capabilities

Nearly 50 highly trained and experienced engineers, scientists, and technicians work in our well-equipped, state-of-the-art laboratories. There are over 40 research , development and testing laboratories (23,000 sq. ft.), two dry rooms (3500 sq. ft.) and six test bays for abuse testing. The dry rooms are suitable for developing prototype batteries and have a modest production capability as a backup contingency. The testing facilities allow us to evaluate battery performance and support our comprehensive failure analysis and diagnostic capabilities. Thermally-activated batteries, active and reserve ambient-temperature primary batteries, rechargeable batteries, and other power sources have been designed and tested for specific ordnance, aerospace, and commercial applications. The commercial applications range from advanced batteries for electric vehicles and consumer applications to large battery systems used by electric utilities for load leveling and other applications.

The Power Sources Technology Group has on-site facilities to fabricate developmental and prototype thermal and ambient-temperature lithium batteries. Staff are experienced in processing electrochemical active materials and fabricating piece parts. We build developmental batteries to evaluate new designs and to evaluate the effects of material or process variations. We have been approved by the DOE as a back-up production supplier of thermal batteries that is used when commercial suppliers are in danger of missing deliverables. We have successfully used this capability, and it stands ready if the need arises. Finally, under contract to private commercial suppliers, we have designed and directed the development of power sources for other applications.

A significant part of the cycle of developing power sources is evaluating performance by data collection and analysis. The group has staff and facilities to test all the electrochemical power sources under development, and also to serve as an independent test facility for industry and government. We also have the ability to design unique testers to meet custom specifications.

In addition to the facilities available within our Power Sources Technology Group, we have direct access to other highly-sophisticated Sandia facilities including those used for testing, analysis, basic materials development and processing, and complex modeling. Computerized environmental testing, (such as vibration, shock, or spin), abnormal testing (such as fire or crash), and safety testing are also available.