Altair Nanotechnologies
Inc. (Altairnano) (NASDAQ: ALTI), a leading provider of energy storage systems
for clean, efficient power and energy management, announced today the shipment
of 40 advanced battery systems in support of the Army's M119 105mm lightweight
gun digitization program.
The battery development initiative, announced by Altairnano in August 2008,
is part of a military testing program to demonstrate the use of Altairnano's
advanced battery systems for improving performance, reliability, and safety
attributes associated with M119 105mm gun batteries. Jim Shields, the Army's
program manager indicated, "I am very excited about the capability offered
by the Altairnano battery technology and look forward to conducting system level
testing and delivering leap-ahead performance to our troops."
"Altairnano's advanced battery systems exhibit the widest operating temperature
ranges and highest abuse tolerance of any lithium-ion battery available today,"
said Terry Copeland, president and CEO, Altairnano. "The projected long-life
of the batteries is also an important attribute, which is expected to help the
military replace batteries less often than shorter-lived, conventional lithium-ion
batteries."
Engineering and software design for the M119 gun digitization program is being
managed by the Armaments Research Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC)
at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey. Testing of the recently shipped battery systems
by the U.S. Army's Communications and Electronics Research, Engineering and
Development Command (CERDEC) at Ft Monmouth, New Jersey is expected to continue
through summer 2009. Once approved for the M119 105mm lightweight gun digitization
program, the Altairnano battery systems could be offered for use throughout
the military's M119 105mm inventory, which currently numbers around 850 howitzers.
The system designed for the U.S. Army features a 24 Volt/22 Amp Hour battery
with an integrated battery management system (BMS). The battery has broad applications
beyond the M119 program and could extend to other weapons platforms, advanced
military vehicle designs, portable power and back-up power applications.