PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., 15 Nov. 2005. Lithium Technology Corp. announced today that the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command in Warren, Mich. has recently awarded it a 30-month, $5.1 million, Tank-Automotive Research Development Engineering Center (TARDEC) award to develop and demonstrate large format lithium-ion batteries for future military hybrid vehicles.
Specifically, the contract was awarded to T/J Technologies, a team consisting of:
* Lithium Technology Corp. (LTC), of Plymouth Meeting, Penn.;
* Saturn Electronics & Engineering, Inc., of Auburn Hills, Mich.;
* Powdermet, Inc. of Euclid, Ohio, and
* Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), of Emeryville, Calif.
Large format lithium-ion batteries may allow military and commercial heavy and medium duty hybrid vehicles to quickly become economically feasible. Already, test cells built by LTC using the T/J proprietary materials have been shown to have superior discharge and charge performance over state-of-the-art hybrid vehicle batteries, in tests during a separate TACOM project managed by SAIC.
LTC is leveraging its expertise in high power and large battery assemblies to commercialize advanced lithium batteries as a new power source in the military and national security systems, transportation and stationary power markets with a particular focus on the U.S. and European geographic market segments where the customers prefer a domestic supplier.
"This milestone demonstrates the continuous growth that LTC has demonstrated in the past few months. Through strategic partnerships, like the one with T/J Technologies, LTC enhances its presence as a dominant player in the large format lithium-ion batteries," says Andrew J. Manning, president and COO of LTC.
LTC manufactures the GAIA product line of large, high power hermetically sealed rechargeable lithium ion cells and batteries. The company's product portfolio includes large cells and batteries from 10 times the capacity of a standard laptop computer battery to 100,000 times greater. LTC produces high power cells designed for HEVs and military applications that can discharge hundreds of amps in times as short as a few minutes, and high capacity cells for applications such as back-up power and remote standby installations. Cells are manufactured in both cylindrical and flat form and employ proprietary extrusion, design and assembly technology. LTC manufactures a variety of standard cells that are assembled into custom large batteries complete with electronics (battery management systems) and electronics to communicate with other components of the system for performance monitoring.
During the past 12 months, LTC and LTC's GAIA Akkumulatorenwerke GmbH subsidiary operating in Nordhausen, Germany, have contracted with ThyssenKrupp (the largest builder of non-nuclear submarines) to provide power supplies for underwater propulsion of manned submarines. Other applications include a prototype of lighter-than-air communication "stratellites"; unmanned surveillance vehicles (air, land, and underwater based); surface to air missiles; standby power applications; renewable energy generation sources (windmills); and hybrid electric vehicles ("HEV") for military uses.
Lithium Technology Corp. is a manufacturer of large format rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries, custom engineered for military, automotive and industrial applications. LTC customers include top tier contractors to the military and suppliers to industrial concerns requiring safe, durable, high power rechargeable power supplies for their applications and the development of new technology.
Lithium Technology has two principal centers of operation -- in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania and in Nordhausen, Germany. The Plymouth Meeting office is also the corporate headquarters. Sales into the U.S. and European markets are managed out of each of the offices. For more information, see www.lithiumtech.com or www.gaia-akku.com.
T/J Technologies is based in Ann Arbor, Mich., and designs and develops nanomaterials for alternative energy devices such as batteries and fuel cells. Having been awarded over 65 R&D contracts, T/J Technologies holds several patents, with many other pending in the areas of materials and energy materials technology. For more information, see www.tjtechnologies.com.
