The Office of Naval Research awarded Lockheed Martin [LMT] a nearly $3 million contract in mid-July for the design and development of a solid oxide fuel cell generator set as an alternative to traditional battlefield power generation equipment.
Lockheed Martin spokeswoman Emily Caruso said yesterday in an email the project’s goal is to provide flexibility to the military in addition to reduced fuel consumption and cost. The company said in a statement the fuel consumption reduction goal is 50 percent or more.
More than 100,000 military generators are used worldwide to power services ranging from lighting and air conditioning to computers, radios and command and control (C2) systems, according to Lockheed Martin. Solid oxide fuel cells convert fuel into electricity using a chemical reaction that is 30- to 50-percent more efficient than the combustion engines used in diesel generators, which Lockheed Martin says are the largest consumers of fuel on the battlefield today.
Since fuel cells require less fuel to create the same amount of power, they offer the potential to save billions of dollars in operational costs and reduce the number of military casualties that are directly related to the delivery of fuel, according to Lockheed Martin.
Lockheed Martin’s fuel cell technology will be integrated with solar panels, providing the military with the power needed to perform missions while using dramatically less fuel. At the end of a 32-month development program, Lockheed Martin will demonstrate and deliver a multi-kilowatt (kW) JP-8 jet fuel compatible Fuel Cell Efficient Power Node for evaluation by the Marine Corps.
Caruso said the system is designed to enable seamless integration of solar panels into the fuel cell generator set as an option to reduce the amount of support equipment needed.
“When solar is available, the solar panels will reduce JP-8 usage,” Caruso said. “When solar is not available, the fuel cell generator set will still be more fuel efficient than their existing generator set.”
Caruso said most of the power produced in a battlefield environment is from traditional generators that operate on diesel fuel and are similar to those used to provide backup electricity in the case of a power loss.
Caruso said Lockheed Martin plans to deliver a prototype by late 2014.