ktn-uk.org/IN
Nikoleta Piperidou & Sheena Hindocha
‘Batteries for Defence’
webinar
Cross-Sector Battery Systems
Innovation Network
13.01.21

Practical Aspects
• All participants will be muted throughout the webinar
• Please use the ‘Q&A’ box for submitting questions
• Please use the ‘Chat’ box for networking & for any technical
issues
• The webinar will be recorded, and you will be sent the link, along
with other information, shortly after the webinar

Agenda
10.00 Welcome & Introductions, Nikoleta Piperidou &
Sheena Hindocha, KTN
10.05 Opportunities & Technical Requirements for
Batteries in the Defence sector, Darren Browning, DSTL
10.20 Practical Case Studies, Bethan Warby, BAE
Systems
10.35 Q&A session chaired by Hazel Biggs, KTN
10.55 Wrap-up
11.00 Close

Current KTN Innovation Networks
Battery
Systems
Commercialising
Metamaterials
Decarbonising
Ports & Harbours
Geospatial
Insights
Medicines
Manufacturing
Microbiome Robotics & AINeurotechnology Quantum
Technologies
Hydrogen
Economy
Electromagnetic
Spectrum

Cross-Sector Battery Systems Innovation Network - Mission
To create an open and collaborative cross-sectoral community for researchers and innovators
in battery manufacturing (including next generation batteries), the related supply chain and end-
users. The community, which will be served by a dedicated online space, will help to:
 open new markets for the battery industry, by introducing this community to new sectors,
thus support the growth of UK economy
 promote innovation in batteries by identifying technical gaps for their introduction to
various sectors
 help decarbonise a wide range of end-users from rail, maritime, aviation, construction etc.
by enabling the adoption of batteries, thus support the Net Zero agenda.

This webinar series is dedicated to the loving memory of Nick Carpenter…

Dr Darren Browning
djbrowning@dstl.gov.uk
Batteries for Defence
(Cross Sector Battery Systems Innovation Network)
OFFICIAL
7
DSTL/PUB128576

 Why is defence interested in batteries?
 Batteries are a key enabler of many defence capabilities
 Battlefield becoming more electronic and digitised with platforms
becoming more electric
 Increased need for power and hence batteries
 Defence no longer the major investor in batteries
– Need to adapt and adopt commercial technologies where possible
– Leverage civilian research
– Seek dual use technologies
– Niche research where necessary for specialist systems
Introduction
8
OFFICIAL

 Land
– Hybrid electric vehicles
– Soldier systems
– Unmanned ground vehicles
– Base infrastructure
 Maritime
– Hybrid large batteries for ships
– Fast boats (very high power)
– USVs (Unmanned Surface Vessels)
– UUVs (Unmanned Underwater Vehicles)
 Aerospace
– UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles)
• Fixed wing
• Rotary wing (power demand higher)
• Batteries appropriate at nano, small and perhaps medium scale
– Emergency & back up batteries for manned aircraft
 Specialist
– Thermal batteries , very high power, 20 yr shelf life
– High energy primaries
Markets/Applications
9
OFFICIAL

 Defence uses lots of different
batteries
 Rechargeables
– Li-ion
– NiCd
– NiMH
– Lead acid
 Primaries
– Zn/MnO2
– Li/FeS2
– Li/SO2
– Li/MnO2
– Li/SOCl2
– others
Military batteries
10
OFFICIAL

 Technical targets depend on application
 Broadly similar to the Faraday targets - the differences may be in the acceptable compromises
– Everyone wants a battery which is lightweight, cheap, safe, high cycle life, high energy, high power, etc.
 Defence may weight some parameters higher than civilian applications
– Temperature of operation (Defence Standard 00-35 - ENVIRONMENTAL HANDBOOK FOR DEFENCE MATERIEL)
• No single temperature range defined but a wide range is preferred (e.g. -20 to +70oC, perhaps colder for some applications)
• Not just operational temperature but storage temperatures may be harsh as well
– May rate specific energy more important than cost or cycle life in some cases
• At one extreme defence still uses primary batteries
• But must still be affordable
• What is battery cost compared to platform cost?
• What is the price of overmatch?
– Most land and air systems - weight is more important than volume
– Most maritime, and especially subsea, volume is more important than weight
– Shock tolerance (bump & vibration)
– Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) must not interfere with or be interfered by local RF systems
 Safe and reliable
Defence battery requirements
11
OFFICIAL

 Increased battery storage can
provide overmatch
– Increasingly the case as more
platforms are battery powered
– E.g. UAV increased surveillance
range – see enemy before they
see you
– RF sensing or jamming
– Or increased persistence
• If blue capability can outlast
red capability then an
advantage
Battery Overmatch
12
OFFICIAL

 Safety is a relative parameter
 MOD (like everyone) wants safe batteries
 But in many cases also needs maximum performance
 Everything is a balance and compromise
 ALARP is key
– Risk must be As Low As Reasonably Practical
– Means in some cases if the requirement warrants it we use very high energy Li metal primary batteries
– In other cases still use lead acid batteries
 Really MOD wants safe, high energy cells
 Take a systems approach
– Even volatile cells can be safe if packaged correctly
– But inherently safer cells allow more freedom with packaging etc.
 Where we may differ from civilian requirements is the level of expected abuse
– e.g. bullet, fragmentation penetration may be more likely
– shock and vibration likely to be harsher
Safety
13
OFFICIAL

 Can defence adopt emerging technology before mainstream markets
– E.g. when perhaps cycle life or cost is not ready for EVs etc.
– Or even technologies that have promise but can’t find a mainstream market
 Can defence make wider use of emerging civilian standards or
 Can civilian applications make wider use of standard defence batteries
– Defence Standard 61-21 and supplements
– US stds
– NATO stds
 Where are the overlaps?
– Perhaps only minor modifications to meet wider markets
Ideas for Cross sector collaboration
14
OFFICIAL

 Batteries dominate electrical energy storage
 But other technologies of interest
– Capacitors/ supercapacitors
– Fuel cells
– Renewables (wind, solar)
Other areas
15
OFFICIAL

Battlefield Electrification
16
OFFICIAL

 Exploitation
– Defence (MOD and Industry users) may be able to exploit products before
they meet all the needs of mainstream markets
– Could be a stepping stone to wider opportunities i.e. defence cell/battery
volumes may typically be lower than commercial markets
• Help with the path to scale up
– Export Market is strong: NATO and international Defence interest in better
energy sources
Exploitation
17
OFFICIAL

 Defence increasingly interested in batteries
 Keen to align with civilian initiatives where possible
 Defence has a very wide range of requirements and applications
– Need battle winning capability
 Finally: The ‘Cross-Sector Battery Systems Innovation Network’ is a good
platform to discover more on Defence context and for Defence to
understand wider industry
Conclusions
18
OFFICIAL

BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
19
Bethan Warby
13/01/2021
Use of Batteries in Defence
BAE Systems Case Studies

BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
20
Unmanned Vehicles
• Archerfish is an underwater mine
neutraliser system.
• It is powered by a lithium ion
battery.
• Stingray is the lightweight torpedo
• Developed from its predecessor Mod 0
torpedo, Sting Ray Mod 1’s main power
source is a sea water battery, featuring
manufacture and installation improvements
to the battery stack.

BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
21
Unmanned Vehicles
PHASA-35
• Solar powered unmanned aircraft PHASA-35
developed with Prismatic.
• Its long-life Li-ion battery and highly efficient
solar technology could allow the aircraft to
maintain flight for up to a year operating in
the upper reaches of the atmosphere.
• BAE Systems have collaborated with
UAVTEK to develop the nano 'Bug' drone
• It has a quick change battery that provides
flight times of more than 40 minutes.

BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
22
Unmanned Vehicles
Ironclad UGV
• Using high endurance battery power, it offers
near silent running up to a 50km range and
will come with a set of mission systems that
can be quickly changed in the field.

BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
23
Buses

BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
24
BAE Systems Research
Electric Propulsion
• In an effort to contribute to net zero
carbon targets, research is being
conducted into bringing
developments from adjacent electric
propulsion markets into the military
domain.
Structural batteries
• This new technology stores the electrical
energy within the physical structure of a
device – reducing or eliminating the need
for traditional batteries. This could
represent a significant reduction in
weight, bulk as well as minimising the
burden and cost of carrying spares.
• To develop the technology, BAE Systems
scientists merged battery chemistries
into composite materials that can be
moulded into complex 3D shapes and
form the structure of the device itself.
This structure can then be plugged in
when it needs recharging or can utilise
renewable power sources, such as solar
energy.

BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
25
BAE Systems Research
Battery Management
Air & WAE have joined forces to explore
how battery management and cooling
technologies from the motorsport
industry could be exploited to deliver
efficiency and performance gains in the
design of future combat aircraft.
Power Operational Concept Demonstration
Completed at the British Army Training Unit
in Kenya
The demonstration used a Deployed Energy
Management System (DEMS), it is an
innovative plug-and-go solution designed by
BAE Systems.

BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
26
Submarines
Due to safety requirements batteries on
submarines have not changed much
over the years.
Their main uses for batteries are:
• Fall-back power
• On board equipment
• Emergency lights

BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
27
Ship Energy Efficiencies
• Research has been conducted to
find ways to make our ships more
energy efficient
• One of the areas of research was
energy storage.
• Kinetic Energy Storage
• Thermal Energy Storage
• Super Capacitors
• Rechargeable Batteries
• Compressed Air
• Superconductive Magnetic Energy
Storage

BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
28
The Future of Batteries for BAE Systems
Key Requirements for us:
• SAFETY
• Operational Assurance
• Lifetime
• Weight/volume - Limited space on platforms
Energy storage is a key capability in a number of BAE Systems’
products, including underwater vehicles and soldier systems.
It is also becoming a key part of running our sites and large platforms.

BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
BAE SYSTEMS PROPRIETARY
29
Thank you!

‘Batteries For…’ webinar series – Q1 2021
• Today’s session: Batteries for Defence
• Coming up:
• Batteries for Marine, 10th of February, 10-11am
• Batteries for Rail, 17th of March, 10-11am
• Each session will bring together experts looking at the supply and demand side for batteries,
technical requirements and explore how these wide range of sectors can decarbonise
through batteries.
• Follow up sessions?
Sign up to receive insights, newsletters and future sessions: www.ukbatteriesnetwork.org

Further Plans
• Q1 2021: Initial launch of the online hub and landscape map (Phase 1)
• Q2 2021: Improvement work on the online hub and landscape map (Phase 2)
• Key areas we will be focusing on:
o Improved networking features to facilitate community building
o Additional content on the hub to make the information provided richer
o Additional layer of information for the landscape map
o Launch of a battery testing map based on E4Tech’s report
Sign up to receive insights, newsletters and future sessions: www.ukbatteriesnetwork.org

©KTN All rights reserved | www.ktn-uk.org/IN
Nikoleta Piperidou, Energy & Infrastructure
nikoleta.piperidou@ktn-uk.org
Sheena Hindocha, Materials Chemistry
sheena.hindocha@ktn-uk.org
For more information, please visit: ukbatteriesnetwork.org
Thank you