ATK/Valence's US Navy Approval To Test Large Li-Ion Polymer Batteries

Alliant Techsystems (ATK, Hopkins, MN) and Valence Technology (Henderson, NV) has announced that ATK/Valence Alliance, a joint venture between ATK Power Sources and Valence Technology, has received limited approval from the US Navy to test large-size lithium-ion polymer batteries in the US Navy's underwater vehicles. Managed by the US Navy Deep Submergence Program Office, this testing is the next phase of the demonstration program to allow the US Navy to replace the current silver-zinc battery with one that will have a substantially longer cycle-life. Lev Dawson, the chairman and CEO of Valence, commented, "The use of our battery modules is the first step in having the under-water vehicle market, both military and commercial oceanographic, realize the advantages of the lithium polymer technology over current power solutions. This technology benefits many types of users."