Automotive lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel Inc. will be working under a $1.29 million contract with the Army to develop a next-generation battery system for the hybrid version of the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Humvee), to be known as the XM1124 Humvee.
Under the contract, EnerDel, a subsidiary of Ener1 Inc. [HEV], will design and build high-performance lithium-ion battery systems for two different applications, drawing on its expertise in multiple-chemistry solutions and ability to provide a complete architecture in cell chemistry, electronics and battery systems design.
“This is an opportunity to showcase the true capabilities of the EnerDel technology in conditions that demand the highest levels of safety, performance and reliability,” EnerDel President Rick Stanley said in a statement last week. “In keeping with a long tradition, we also expect that innovations perfected here will have important benefits for the commercial markets.”
EnerDel will spend the next 18 months collaborating with the Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) to produce four custom-built power systems that will be subjected to extreme performance simulations.
TARDEC will test two of EnerDel’s battery chemistries.
In addition to its lithium-manganese spinel chemistry, best suited for extending electric vehicle range or electronic systems runtime, the program will also test EnerDel’s lithium-titanate system, an advanced chemistry developed in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, designed for extreme high-power hybrids that require hard acceleration and braking.
While the XM1124 Humvee is already significantly more efficient than the conventional M1113 Humvee, boasting a higher top speed, faster acceleration, longer range and improved fuel economy, expectations are that the new, upgraded battery packs will greatly increase the peak power capability of the current demonstration vehicles.
In addition, the battery technology will also include an all-electric silent watch capability to power the electronics or traction motor without running the truck’s diesel generator, significantly reducing both the audible and thermal signatures of the vehicle. Such an EnerDel-equipped XM1124 Humvee could also function as a portable power plant to power a mobile command post or field hospital.
TARDEC, part of the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM), is headquartered at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Mich. It is the nation’s laboratory for advanced military automotive technology.