General Motors subsidiary GM Defense has been selected by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to develop a battery pack prototype for testing and analysis on Department of Defense platforms.
The DIU requires a scalable design that can be used for tactical military vehicles. GM Defense will leverage GM’s most advanced battery technology, the Ultium Platform, as it works to meet DIU’s requirements. GM said the military wants a light-to-heavy-duty electric vehicle for use in operational and garrison settings to reduce fossil fuel use. As a result, that should reduce the military’s carbon emissions.
DIU is a Department of Defense organization that accelerates the adoption of commercial technology across the U.S. military, which aligns with GM Defense’s mission of leveraging GM’s advanced technologies for the global defense and government customers.
“This award is a critical enabler for non-traditional defense businesses like GM Defense to deliver commercial technologies that support our customers’ transition to a more electric, autonomous, and connected future,” said Steve duMont, president of GM Defense. “Commercial battery electric technologies continue to mature. GM Defense offers a unique advantage with our ability to leverage proven commercial capabilities and the billions in GM investments in electric vehicle and autonomous vehicle technologies in order to help provide our customers with the most advanced capabilities the commercial market can offer.”
General Motors says its Ultium Platform is the ideal candidate for such a project. The platform is a combined electric vehicle (EV) battery architecture and propulsion system that can deliver power, range, and scale beyond any previous GM hybrid or extended-range EV technology. The Ultium Platform is modular and scalable and uses different chemistries and cell form factors, making it adaptable to changing needs and new technology insertions as they become available.
This is not the first partnership GM Defense has forged with the military. In July, the company struck a deal with the US Army to provide a GMC HUMMER EV Pickup for analysis and demonstration. The award is intended to help meet the military’s requirement for light- to heavy-duty battery EVs that can support reduced reliance on fossil fuels in the operational and garrison environments.
