$6.2 Million for Military 24V Li-Ion 6T Batteries to Replace Lead-Acids

Bren-Tronics, Inc. has received a contract to provide high-volume automated manufacturing of Military 24V 6T Li-Ion batteries from the U.S. Army Contracting Command through the National Advanced Mobility Consortium (NAMC). The total anticipated project value is over $6.2 million.

For the past two years, Bren-Tronics has manufactured two versions of the 24V Li-Ion 6T battery, one optimized for high-power and the other for high-energy, and delivered over 500 worldwide.  Under this new contract, Bren‑Tronics will mature the existing Li-Ion 6T battery design and manufacturing processes to create mass production capabilities at its Commack facilities.

In the final requirement, Bren-Tronics will demonstrate the ability to produce 2,000 Li-ion 6T batteries per month.

The Bren-Tronics 24V Li-Ion 6T battery provides twice the energy with less than half the weight of traditional lead-acid 6T batteries.  It also has the highest energy capacity of any 6T battery available in the U.S. while being a true drop-in replacement for the current lead-acid 6T battery.

Applications for the Bren-Tronics 24V Li-Ion 6T battery include: vehicle starting, auxiliary power, silent watch, ground station power and directed-energy applications.

"The 6T battery is used in approximately 95 percent of Army tactical ground-vehicle platforms. The conventional lead-acid 6T battery solution is challenged to meet today's military power requirements and will not achieve the Army's next-generation power demands," says Doug Petito, Bren-Tronics' VP of Sales and Marketing. "This contract, to create manufacturing capability for 2,000 Li-Ion 6T batteries per month, validates the long-term need and the U.S. Army's commitment to this new technology."

Specifications:

• High Output Energy, up to 3.2kWh
• High Output, Power Version exceeds MIL-PRF-32143B Cranking Requirements
• Wide temperature range -40°C to +60°C operation for Versions with H suffix
• Mechanical form fit drop-in replacement
• Designed to interface with MIL-STD-1275 compliant vehicle charging systems

Features

• Energy Capacity 2.7kWh (Power), 3.2kWh (Energy)
• Cold cranking current up to 1100A @ -18°C, 400A @-40°C Power Version (with no pre-heat required)
• Electronically Protected
• Light Weight
• Long Cycle Life
• CAN Bus Communication (Daisy Chain Capable)
• SAE post terminals available