GM Defense Revolutionizes Future Military Platforms with Groundbreaking Battery Electric Technology

GM Defense, a General Motors subsidiary, is supplying commercial battery electric technology to support the Pulsed Power and Energy Laboratory (PPEL) at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division (NSWCPD). The project, named Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Batteries to Enable Directed Energy (EEVBEDE), is financed by the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) Operational Energy Innovation office through its Operational Energy Capability Improvement Fund (OECIF). UTA PPEL will assess the technology to comprehend the current capabilities of commercial automotive batteries under dynamic discharge and charge scenarios. This evaluation will aid in identifying options for domestically sourced energy storage for future military platform applications.

GM Defense is utilizing GM’s Ultium Platform propulsion architecture for evaluation and testing. The Ultium Platform can deliver power, range, and scalability beyond any previous GM hybrid or extended-range EV technology. The Ultium Platform is modular and scalable, capable of accommodating different chemistries and cell form factors, making it adaptable to evolving needs and new technology insertions. By leveraging its parent company’s battery technologies, GM Defense can address the DoD’s energy and energy storage challenges. The work conducted in this new initiative will offer insights into performance and design considerations when batteries are used in more dynamic, high-power operations than typical applications. OECIF support is instrumental in the development of new power and energy technologies, providing the DoD with advanced capabilities and preventing power and energy from becoming a limiting factor.

Steve duMont, president of GM Defense, states, “The Department of Defense can leverage billions of dollars in GM investments to develop and manufacture transformative battery technologies. These technologies hold significant potential to enhance operational capability, whether at the tactical edge or on installations worldwide. GM Defense is eager to support this crucial project and assist in transitioning our global defense and government customers.”

David Wetz, a professor of electrical engineering at UTA and director of the PPEL, expresses his excitement about working with GM Defense to test the Ultium Platform to determine its potential for future warfighting applications. He says, “PPEL has a longstanding relationship with the DoD and the Office of Naval Research for testing the limits of batteries used in high power applications, and we are uniquely positioned to evaluate this technology and recommend future use cases.”

Peter Crouch, dean of UTA’s College of Engineering, emphasizes UTA’s commitment as a Carnegie R-1 university to collaborate with industry to better understand and develop new technology. He says, “This collaboration between PPEL, GM Defense, and the DoD will not only enhance our nation’s military capabilities but also contribute to our workforce development efforts, producing the next generation of engineers who will solve our nation’s complex problems.”

GM Defense previously announced its participation in the Defense Innovation Unit’s Jumpstart for Advanced Battery Standardization (JABS) project, which, like EEVBEDE, aims to evaluate and optimize high voltage battery systems. GM Defense provided a prototype of a battery system based on GM’s Ultium Platform for the project. Under the same contract, GM Defense demonstrated mission power capabilities by integrating a high-voltage battery pack into a light tactical utility vehicle. The key learnings from JABS will inform the integration requirements of future battery electric defense solutions.