Technology Overview

Battery Principles and Basics

The smallest working unit in a battery is the electrochemical cell, consisting of a cathode and an anode separated and connected by an electrolyte. The electrolyte conducts ions but is an insulator to electrons. In a charged state, the anode contains a high concentration of intercalated lithium while the cathode is depleted of lithium. During the discharge, a lithium ion leaves the anode and migrates through the electrolyte to the cathode while its associated electron is collected by the current collector to be used to power an electric device (illustrated below).

The electrodes in lithium-ion cells are always solid materials. One can distinguish between cell types according to their electrolytes, which may be liquid, gel, or solid-state components. The electrolytes in gel and solid-state cells represent a structural component and do not need additional separators for the effective separation of electrodes and avoidance of short circuits. Cells come in button, cylindrical, and prismatic forms.

For low-energy and low-power applications, a cell often represents a full battery. For high-energy and high-power applications (such as transportation or stationary storage) a number of cells are packaged in a module, and a number of modules are packaged in a battery.

Lithium ion based battery systems have dominated every market they have ever been introduced into, including cell phones, laptop computers, power tools, and most recently, automobiles. Utilizing newly developed technology, Corvus is now poised to enter the untapped market of large foot print lithium ion batteries. There is a strong demand in many industries to replace the existing lead acid based batteries with smaller and lighter batteries. In addition to being less costly than the existing battery systems, the new Corvus battery system has opened up the doors for new applications. These include hybrid/electric marine propulsion applications such as environmentally sensitive harbor tug boats, pure electric passenger ferries, high performance sailboats, improved personal yachts and submersibles. Corvus lithium ion batteries are also ideal for light weight solar array batteries and portable wind power storage batteries. There are also a number of military battery applications which would benefit from Corvus technology.

The team of engineers at Corvus has extensive experience in battery power design and powertrain development, as well as in the production of battery storage systems for all its applications. This unique combination of experience and capability provides the customer with a seasoned, value-added approach to the integration of high performance battery storage technology to their projects. The various industries can now tap into this resource in order to provide solutions to their world-wide market needs and secure a premier position in their respective fields.

The Technology

Corvus utilizes advanced lithium ion polymer cells in multi-cell module configurations. These configurations are monitored by a proprietary battery management system to control charge, discharge and monitor all aspects of the module, pack and array. Multi-module arrays are capable of producing energy storage in mega watt scale sizes.

The Corvus proprietary battery management system starts at the module level monitoring voltage, temperature and actively balancing cells. Multi-module packs are managed by pack controllers up to one thousand volts and battery pack arrays are managed by an array controller without energy limits.

Marine applications include hybrid-electric and electric marine propulsion systems including environmentally beneficial hybrid harbor tug boats and pure electric passenger ferries. Corvus battery systems can support solar arrays, wind farms and hydro installations.