The US Defense Innovation Unit has contracted GM Defense to develop a battery pack prototype for testing and analysis on US Department of Defense platforms.
Under the agreement, GM Defense will utilize its most advanced battery technology, Ultium Platform, which can be installed on tactical military vehicles.
“This award is a critical enabler for non-traditional defense businesses like GM Defense to deliver commercial technologies that support our customers’ transition to a more electric, autonomous and connected future,” GM Defense President Steve duMont explained.
“Commercial battery electric technologies continue to mature.”
“GM Defense offers a unique advantage with our ability to leverage proven commercial capabilities… in order to help provide our customers with the most advanced capabilities the commercial market can offer.”
GM’s Ultium Platform combines electric vehicle battery architecture and propulsion system to provide a range, scale, and power that exceeds its previous hybrid or extended range electric vehicle technologies.
The platform utilizes several cell form factors and chemistries that allow it to adapt to evolving insertions and other related technologies in the future.
GM’s Electric-Powered ‘Supertruck’
In July, the US Army selected GM Defense’s parent company General Motors to deliver an all-electric Hummer vehicle for testing and evaluation.
The demonstration aims to showcase an electric-powered military vehicle that has the potential to reduce reliance on fossil fuels in both garrison and operational scenarios.
The electric Hummer “is the world’s first and only all-electric supertruck” that comprises a 24-module, double-stacked Ultium battery pack and zero tail-pipe emissions.
The vehicle has 1,000 horsepower and a 1,500-pound-foot (2,232 kilogram-meters) wheel torque.
It can fast-charge to a full 350 kilowatt/800-volt DC in 12 minutes for traveling 100 miles (160 kilometers).
“Leveraging GM’s advanced technology, this demonstration will prove to our US Army customer what an all-electric supertruck can do and how the underlying technology can be leveraged for future defense needs, whether on an installation or in a tactical environment,” duMont said.
