Autonomous Maintenance and Health Monitoring of Rechargeable Batteries Greg Caswell, Eli Aghassi DfR Solutions 301-474-0607 gcaswell@dfrsolutions, eaghassi@dfrsolutions and Celina J. Mikolajczak, Ken Zemach Exponent Failure Analysis Associates 650.688.7322 celinam@exponent, kzemach@exponent Abstract A major issue facing the military in the utilization of a lithium ion battery renewable energy source is to develop solutions for the logistical problems associated with self discharge of rechargeable batteries while in storage aboard amphibious vehicles, Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) ships, and at ground-based storage facilities. A second issue is having a methodology for rapidly and cost effectively determining the state of health (SOH) of a large number of batteries during storage. Due to the high volume of batteries used by the Department of Defense (DoD), it becomes impractical from a time, safety, and cost prospective for DoD personnel to perform maintenance recharges on all stored batteries every 3 to 6 months. In addition, several locations, such as ship platforms, currently prohibit charging of lithium batteries due to safety concerns, adding to the logistical problems. What the DoD requires is an autonomous battery maintenance technology that will help to maintain batteries in a safe and controlled manner while undergoing long term storage aboard ship or in a warehouse environment. This technology should be able to remove any safety impacts to the storage facility if a ba