Earlier this year, The US Department of Defense (DOD) ordered a GMC Hummer for analysis and demonstration. A few days later, the army also ordered a Canoo EV for the same reason.
The results of these evaluations are unknown, but the DOD has now asked GM Defense to develop a battery pack prototype for testing and analysis on existing DOD platforms. This means the military might be more interested in GM's Ultium battery technology than the Hummer.
The DOD department behind this latest development is called the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), and its goal is to accelerate the adoption of commercial technology across the US military.
"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."
GM's Ultium Platform is a battery-electric architecture and propulsion system in multiple sizes and configurations. "Modular and scalable, the Ultium Platform uses different chemistries and cell form factors, making it adaptable to changing needs and new technology insertions as they become available," said GM Defense in a press release.
This basically means that GM Defense can develop a range of platforms for existing designs, and these platforms can be updated in the future with better batteries.
As we know, EVs are advancing at a rapid rate. The first batch of EVs to arrive on our shores had a range of 120 miles, but we're already at 500 + miles these days. Solid-state batteries are widely believed to be the next big step forward as they're more energy dense and less prone to spontaneously combusting.
In our previous reports, commenters wanted to know how a vehicle would be charged in the middle of a desert.
This view is shortsighted and shows a lack of understanding of the various DOD departments. According to the US General Services Administration, the military owns 174,000 nontactical vehicles across the five service branches. Most of these vehicles are located in the US and lead a fairly mundane existence.
The US Army, Navy, and Air Force have released dates for net-zero emissions. The Air Force aims to be environmentally friendly by 2046, while the other two will follow in 2050.
The White House must be pleased with these latest developments, as President Biden has been pushing for EV adoption since entering office. He's even gone as far as expressing an interest in electrifying the famous presidential limousine, colloquially known as The Beast.
