Space enthusiasts will be feeling fully charged this week, with news of a new development in battery packs that can be used during spaceflight.
Xerotech, a company which works out of Ireland, has announced the development of what it describes as “next generation battery safety technology”.
The technology being created is known as passive propagation resistant (PPR) design and is a critical safety requirement for future space missions. The PPR technology is housed within an ultra-lightweight fire-retardant pack, which is 90% lighter than their competitors’ efforts.
Xerotech worked with the European Space Agency to develop this project.
Barry Flannery, CEO and Founder of Xerotech, discussed this ambitious project.
He said: “This is a very exciting project with ESA under the Building Blocks General Support Technology Program (GSTP), that will enable Xerotech to stay at the forefront of battery pack design.”
Mr Flannery also added the tests involved in producing these batteries are of the highest standards. He added: “Demonstrating that our proprietary PPR solution exceeds the extremely stringent requirements for space applications will provide tremendous technical validation of a core pillar of Xerotech’s battery safety concept which has already been proven in ground-based applications.”
The PPR technology is already in use in Xerotech’s Hibernium product line for Off-Highway Vehicles and Non-Road Mobile-Machinery.
Thomas Tomaszewski, VP of Business Development, discussed its arrival. He said: “We have experienced an excellent market reception of our recently launched Hibernium platform, partially thanks to the market leading safety-first design. This project with ESA further strengthens our position as leaders in module and pack technology, not only for heavy duty vehicles, but for battery packs in general”.
