Altair Nanotechnologies Inc. (Nasdaq: ALTI), a leading provider of energy storage systems for clean, efficient power and energy management, has announced 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.
About Altair Nanotechnologies Inc.
Headquartered in Reno, Nevada with manufacturing in Anderson, Indiana, Altairnano is a leading provider of energy storage systems for clean, efficient power and energy management. Going beyond lithium ion, Altairnano's Lithium-Titanate based battery systems are among the highest performing and most scalable, with applications that include battery cells for military artillery, battery packs for hybrid vehicles and energy storage systems for large-scale stationary power services. For more information please visit Altairnano at www.altairnano.com.
