Logistics experts ask industry to boost manufacturing and automation in military battery supply chain

PHILADELPHIA – U.S. military logistics experts are asking industry for new ways of providing efficient, high-performance, and affordable battery technology for weapons and sensors on the battlefield.

Officials of the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Contracting Services Office in Philadelphia issued a broad agency announcement (BAA 0006-21) on Wednesday for the Battery Network III (BATTNET) project.

BATTNET seeks new military battery innovations in manufacturing and automation; manufacturing automation to reduce manufacturing costs, shorten lead times, and improve quality; optimizing design for manufacturability; process improvements; manufacturing for alternative battery supplies; improvements to the domestic battery supply chain; capitalizing on commercial technology for military batteries; battery standardization; and improvements in battery supply chain management.

Automating Battery, Battery Components and Cells Manufacturing

Manufacturing and automation innovations involve fabrication, assembly, and testing that enhance or automate the manufacturing of cells, batteries, or battery components to reduce manufacturing costs, shorten lead time, or improve quality.

Optimization of design for manufacturability focuses on improving producibility, reducing the number of parts, standardizing components, lowering production costs, or shortening fabrication time, while maintaining or improving cell or battery pack performance.

Related: The changing face of test: testing advanced aerospace systems

Process improvements involves innovations or modifications that improve quality control; qualification, and validation; and lean manufacturing.

Advancement of manufacturing readiness for alternative supplies involves developing alternate sources of cells, batteries, and materials that replace legacy military batteries, and compensate for diminishing manufacturing sources and materials shortages.

Improvements to the Domestic Battery Supply Chain

Improvements to the domestic battery supply chain involve new processes to ensure DLA’s battery supply chain is economical and available for surge and sustainment periods.

Transfer of commercial technology for use in military batteries involves capitalizing on commercial battery technology for military batteries.

Battery standardization involves using standardized parts, cells, electronics, and batteries to reduce the costs and complexity of the battery supply chain, such as standardized sizes, connectors, and modular designs.

Improvements in the Battery Supply Chain Management

Improvements in battery supply chain management involves mangling the military battery supply chain from procurement and storage to distribution and disposition. Examples include increasing the shelf-life of batteries, getting charged batteries to warfighters quickly; packaging and handling to reduce costs, reducing the number of unused batteries that expire on the shelf, and new ways to handle shipping of hazardous battery materials.

Companies interested should email white papers no later than 1 Sept. 2026 to [email protected]. Those submitting promising white papers may be invited to submit full proposals.

Email questions or concerns to the DLA's Emily Linico at [email protected], or to [email protected] with BATTNET III BAA Questions in the subject line. More information is online at https://sam.gov/opp/1fe7b6e26d324959924baeb5462437d1/view.