Benzinga | Jul 15, 2021 07:36AM EDT

Enovix Awarded Contract To Demonstrate Advanced 3D Silicon Lithium-ion Batteries For U.S. Army

Enovix Corporation ("Enovix"), the leader in the design and manufacture of next generation 3D Silicon(tm) Lithium-ion batteries, today announced a contract award with General Technical Services under DOTC-17-01-INIT1218 Advanced Power Systems Technologies with the Department of Defense to demonstrate safe and efficient advanced lithium-ion battery technology to the U.S. Army. This contract was awarded in conjunction with Inventus Power, a leading provider of advanced battery and power systems that specializes in the design and manufacture of Li-ion battery packs, smart chargers, and efficient power supplies. The application for the Enovix batteries is the WarFighter centralized power source, used to power worn and carried equipment within the soldier ensemble. Enovix believes that the total U.S. wearable military battery market is approximately $350M annually based on currently established military programs.

"President Biden's recent executive order calls for a comprehensive review of U.S. supply chains to identify vulnerabilities and risks, and lithium-ion batteries are imperative to our military and national security," said Cam Dales, general manager and chief commercial officer at Enovix. "In addition to our demonstrated product performance and ability to manufacture at scale, we understand that the Department of Defense greatly values our ability to produce our advanced lithium-ion batteries in the U.S. in order to secure the supply chain for mission-critical power sources to power the most advanced defense force in history."

U.S. soldiers carry more than 60 pounds of gear including more than 15 pounds of batteries to power critical equipment--from weapons to newer technologies using smartphones, tablets, and GPS--and traditionally those batteries have been developed and sourced internationally. Since 2011, the U.S. Army has been provided with slim and light batteries that can last through a three-day mission, solving two issues that soldiers were previously faced with: carrying too much weight and having an efficient power source.

Through Enovix's next generation lithium-ion battery technology produced in its California-based factory, soldiers could have access to an even more powerful, lighter and smaller power source to support their missions. Enovix is developing batteries that can provide almost double the run-time in the same size and weight. The company spent 14 years developing an advanced 100% active silicon-anode lithium-ion battery that offers a higher energy density battery in a small, lightweight format. These battery cells will be inserted into Inventus Conformal Wearable Battery (CWB) packs to demonstrate their capability.