Page 38: of Marine Technology Magazine (November 2022)

LANDER LAB #5 BATTERIES

A feature about technologies, strategies and use of Ocean Landers s

LITHIUM

POLYMER

BATTERIES

Photo used permission from Leon Adams, SWE, Houston, TX

By Kevin Hardy, Global Ocean Design LLC ithium-Polymer batteries offer a safe and robust op- to recognize LiPo’s are simply different than lead-acid or alka- tion for portable electrical power. As we collectively line batteries. They have their own distinguishing behaviors. have gained experience, application parameters have I admit to some apprehension when I began studying, then been re? ned, de? ned and improved. Though ubiqui- learning-by-doing with LiPos. I started out with LiPo batteries

Ltous in everyday life, their acceptance has not quite inside of ? reproof charging bag, on a concrete ? oor within a outrun a troubled past. small cinderblock bunker 6-feet away from everything else. I

LiPos have now ? own on crewed Space-X spacecraft and are moved to a big clay garden pot with a clay drain pan for a lid. I installed on the International Space Station. The global auto- monitored temperature, and voltage. I read everything I could. motive industry is undergoing dramatic change with new bat- I followed up on promising leads. It was DreamWorks’ “How tery developments that follow the personal computer and cell To Train Your Dragon”. I needed to know. Safety remained phone industries. The Tesla Powerwall, which uses a stack of paramount, as I began to get a handle on the technology a lot

LiPos, allows homes to get off the grid when the grid goes of others were already using.

down. WHOI’s DSV ALVIN, James Cameron’s DSV DEEP I have now used LiPos for several years in a variety of at-

SEA CHALLENGER, and Triton Submarine’s TRITON sea applications. The more you learn, the more successes you 36,000/2 (DSV Limiting Factor) submersibles are powered have, and the more possibilities present themselves. I respect by pressure compensated LiPo battery modules. In 2019 and their energy density, but also their willingness to do a job.

2020, Japan launched two new diesel-electric submarines, There is a large body of work describing fundamentals of LiPo

Taigei, or “Great Whale,” and Toryu, or “Fighting Dragon,” cells and their application. This article will cite some of them.

equipped with lithium-ion batteries, making the submarines In brief, always treat LiPo’s with the respect they deserve. It capable of cruising silently submerged for longer. is crucial to stay within the industry recommended operational

Like different animals at the San Diego Zoo, it is important parameters. The terrible tales of weekend RC enthusiasts can 38 November/December 2022

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