U.S. military wants a prototype Ultium battery pack from GM Defense
The U.S. Department of Defense is serious about doing its homework on switching to battery-electric vehicles. The Army has procured a Canoo electric van and a GMC Hummer EV for analysis as part of its electric Light Reconnaissance Vehicle (eLRV) program. Earlier this month, the Army placed an order for two Volcon Stag battery-electric side-by-sides. Now the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), created to speed the military’s incorporation of commercial technology, has asked GM to develop a prototype Ultium battery pack “for testing and analysis on Department of Defense platforms” for garrison and operational environments. No one’s mentioned the battlefield specifically for any of this testing just yet. In Army-speak, an operational environment means the various conditions a soldier or a squad needs to work in, covering everything from the time and weather to local infrastructure and enemy weapons.
The DIU wants a heavy duty, scalable power source for tactical vehicles. The scalable part seems licked; GM developed the Ultium system of battery cells and chemistries, battery pack sizes and layouts, vehicle architecture, and software to be modular enough to serve its own array of EVs across its array of brands. GM Defense will have a head start on considering tactical applications as well. The automaker won the contract to provide the Army’s latest infantry squad vehicle, which is based on the Chevrolet Colorado ZR2, and shortly afterward demonstrated a battery-powered version for military brass. GM Defense honcho Steve duMont has already said his outfit will work up a prototype military EV based on the new Hummer.
The Army is looking at hybrid-electric battlefield vehicles concurrent with these pure electric efforts. The branch awarded BAE Systems a contract to develop two hybrid Abrams Main Battle Tanks (MBTs). The MBTs, which can “operate in silent mode for about six hours” and show improved weapons performance than their traditional counterparts, are being put through a multi-year prototype testing phase that will end later this year. The same branch awarded Gale Banks Engineering a contract to develop a hybrid Humvee, and awarded Matbock a contract to work up a hybrid Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Both those transports begin testing next year. No matter which vehicles win, they’re all going to need batteries, which could give GM Defense and Ultium an opening large enough to drive a tank through regardless of what happens with the Hummer EV.
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