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K2 Energy Solutions Tapped By U.S. Army To Develop New Rechargeable Lithium Battery For Military Applications

March 19, 2009 by Jeff Shepard

K2 Energy Solutions, a manufacturer of rechargeable battery systems for electric vehicles and energy storage applications, has been awarded a $119,000 contract by the U.S. Army’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC) at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.

The contract was awarded under the Army’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and calls for the development of an improved, ultra-safe BB-2590 rechargeable battery, a high-power lithium ion battery for military applications.

According to the company, as one of the most advanced rechargeable batteries of its kind, the BB-2590 is designed to power a variety of rugged military devices, including portable electronics, military communication systems, robotics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV). An advanced, more powerful BB-2590 will allow the Army to utilize the battery for more complex applications such as Non-Line-of-Sight missile firing.

"This new contract allows K2 to take the Lithium Ion Phosphate battery technology we’ve already developed for commercial use and modify it in a way that is advantageous for the military," said Jim Hodge, Chief Technical Officer at K2. "Not only will this new generation of battery provide the Army with a more powerful form of portable energy, but it will be at a much lower cost than hi-grade batteries currently being deployed."

K2 Energy Solutions has been tapped by the Army to create an updated BB-2590 battery that is three times as powerful, can be used longer, is lighter weight, is capable of a faster recharge, and costs less than the original. It is felt that such improvements will drastically reduce the number of batteries troops must carry in the field, and save weight and logistics needed to transport the battery to the field.