Aluminum fuel cell power sources for long range unmanned underwater vehicles

Two aluminum fuel cell power sources have been developed by Alupower for unmanned underwater vehicle propulsion based on solids management and solids free variants of the technology. The solids managed aluminum fuel cell power source will exceed the ARPA defined requirements in terms of energy and power density if liquid oxygen is used as the oxidant supply. For higher power density applications, the solids free aluminum fuel cell power source can provide 60 kWh at 3 kW from a 4-foot long section of a 21-inch diameter vehicle. Higher power density and energy density versions of both the solids managed and solids free aluminum fuel cell power source requires the development of open cycle systems. The life cycle costs of an aluminum fuel cell power source are lower than those of a silver-zinc battery averaged over 100 vehicle missions.