Fish-inspired battery could power space applications

The project has been awarded a three-year $2.55m grant from the US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), shared equally between Penn State and Carnegie Mellon universities in the US, and the Adolphe Merkle Institute of the University of Fribourg in Switzerland.

Joseph Najem, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Penn State, will lead the project to create an energy source capable of powering satellites, cameras, weather sensors and other technologies in space.

Najem and his team will collaborate closely with Michael Mayer from the University of Fribourg to fabricate and produce the multifunctional polymer- or hydrogel-based power sources. Amir Barati Farimani, Carnegie Mellon University, and Christoph Weder, the University of Fribourg, will focus mainly on simulation and the synthesis of the materials required for production.

“The current challenge in space is that lithium-ion batteries — the kind you’d find in a cell phone or an electric car, for example — are rigid and very high maintenance,” Najem said. “They are expensive to install and require a lot of technology to keep them running. There is also a safety concern due to the potential of explosion when overcharged.”