U.S. Army awards Saft $3.2 million increase on contract for high-power lithium-ion technology

The U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Research Development Engineering Command (TARDEC) is awarding Saft an additional $3.2 million, building on the $17 million contract it signed with the battery manufacturer in 2004. The new contract enables Saft to increase the production capability of its very high power (VHP) lithium-ion (Li-ion) technology under TARDEC’s Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) program.

The ManTech program provides funding for the development of low-risk, affordable technologies for military systems. The goal is to improve production costs through product flow improvements, simplifying the design of manufactured products, and reducing labor hours. Since receiving funding from ManTech in 2004, Saft’s Space and Defense Division has seen a fivefold increase in production capability, while also decreasing production costs on cells by 70%. These costs savings will likely enable the US government to recover the entire cost of the ManTech program based on current production orders, resulting in a projected savings of $26 million by 2013.

“Saft is honored to further extend our longstanding relationship with the U.S. Army TARDEC,” said Thomas Alcide, Saft Specialty Battery Group General Manager. “The continued improvement of our VHP technology and our manufacturing capabilities is due to the leadership of the Hybrid Electric Team Leader, the Energy Storage Team Leader, along with the support of the entire team at US Army TARDEC. Their commitment to pushing the envelope of Li-ion technology has made possible these significant improvements in our processes and our technology.”

Saft manufactures the highest power Li-ion batteries in the world, with its large format VLV range cells that provide twice as much power as the Li-ion cells used in hybrid electric military vehicles and other defense applications today. Saft’s diverse Li-ion portfolio also includes high power, medium power and high energy solutions, with each of these product lines designed specifically for applications requiring either power, energy or a combination of both. Saft’s high-power Li-ion batteries are currently being used in several of the military’s hybrid electric armored demonstrator vehicles, including BAE Systems (United Defense’s) Non Line of Sight Canon (NLOS-C), Carnegie Mellon National Robotics Engineering Center’s Crusher robotic vehicle, General Dynamic Land Systems’ Reconnaissance Surveillance Targeting Vehicle (RSTV), and US Army TACOM’s High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV).