mPhase Technologies announced this week that it is engaged in preliminary discussions with a major prime contractor of military applications to potentially adapt its MEMS based battery technology and reserve battery "know-how" to serve as a G-force activated energy source and provide power in new weapons systems. The company has successfully tested with the U.S. Army in the past, a single-cell reserve battery, which was activated by a projectile launch event, fired out of a tank, at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland, in 2008.
The company has since expanded its efforts to a multi-cell capability for non-G-force enabled applications such as memory backup and is improving this advanced design for critical G-force enabled munitions systems. Additionally, mPhase is seeking to expand its initial efforts with Picatinny Arsenal in developing applications of its battery technology to provide power for smart munitions. The company recently signed a 3 year CRADA (Cooperative Research and Development Agreement) with the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center (ARDEC) at Picatinny, New Jersey.
"We believe we are making significant strides in establishing key partnerships for a broad development effort of batteries capable of being activated by G-force acceleration. Reliable and safe energy sources for providing power are essential to many new weapons systems, especially small munitions systems," said Ron Durando, president and CEO of mPhase Technologies. "We are looking forward to establishing a significant collaboration effort with other prime military contractors."
Prior testing with Picatinny demonstrated extreme resiliency to shock and acceleration of the the company's battery prototypes, surviving tests that subjected them to high acceleration of over 30,000 G-forces. One G is equal to the pull of gravity at sea level. The tests, which involved both simulations out of an air-gun and live testing of firing projectiles out of a tank, indicated that the underlying nanostructure of the prototype power cell could withstand extreme shock if used in military applications.
mPhase Technologies has developed its "smart surface" technology enabled by nanotechnology, MEMS processing and microfluidics. In addition to enabling its first battery product, the company claims that its technology has potential applications within drug delivery systems, lab-on-a-chip analytic systems, self-cleaning systems, liquid and chemical sensor systems, and filtration systems.
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