US lithium battery storage company Navitas Systems has installed a new automated cells production line at its Michigan facility to “optimise custom cell manufacturing” for the country’s military.
Navitas said it is working with the aerospace and defence company Lockheed Martin to bring “higher-performing” lithium products to the US Navy— because “the US military has had limited battery options” as many lithium cell suppliers are based in “adversary countries”.
The chairman and founder of Navitas, Alan ElShafei (pictured), said the company has established “one of the most innovative, safe and flexible production lines”. The line “can do non-prismatic, polygonal, or rounded edge cell formats to assure maximum volumetric efficiency or optimal weight distribution”, he added.
ElShafei said Navitas aimed to fill a “large unserved gap” that had opened up in the supply market for lithium cells over the past few years. He said Navitas would “utilise and optimise” different lithium chemistries, creating non-standard cell shapes in the process of cell production.
“At one end of the spectrum, you have large lithium cell manufacturers who are at full capacity, supplying standard lithium products to the automotive and electric grid markets.” ElShafei said. “At the other end of the spectrum, you have a low number of small companies supplying low-volume quantities that are very labour intensive.”
Navitas said its Advanced Solutions Group facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has the capability to produce more than one million custom format pouch cells every year, with cells supported range between sub-1Ah size to 60Ah.
In early 2012, Navitas acquired the Government Solutions Group of lithium battery manufacturer A123 Systems. Two years later, the company won a contract to develop a next-generation lithium-ion “6T” battery system for use in military applications, with a focus on ground combat vehicle applications.