Research Progress and Prospects of Aluminum-Water Batteries

Abstract

The demand for underwater power sources is increasing as marine activities increase, and unmanned undersea vehicles(UUVs) develop. Aluminum is a promising anode material due to its high specific capacity, high electrochemical activity, and low cost. Aluminum-water batteries with aluminum alloy as anode, hydrogen evolution material as cathode, and seawater as electrolyte have specific energy and specific power of 400 Wh/kg and 35 W/L, respectively. These batteries are widely applied in aerospace, automotive, military, and other fields. This paper elaborated on the working principle of aluminum-water batteries and reviewed the research progress of aluminum alloy anodes, hydrogen evolution cathodes, and electrolyte materials. Then, it summarized the development process and the existing challenges of aluminum-water battery prototypes and listed the applications of aluminum-water batteries in UUVs, underwater energy stations, and underwater preset weapon systems. Finally, this paper analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of aluminum-water batteries, as well as their future development direction, so as to provide a reference for the application of aluminum-water batteries in UUVs, oceanographic buoys, underwater workstations, and other underwater equipment in the future.

Keywords

• unmanned undersea vehicle
• al-water batteries
• al alloy
• anode