Army chooses Galvion for squad power management and soldier-wearable battery charging in harsh conditions
NATICK, Mass. – U.S. Army researchers needed a lightweight wearable power-management and battery-charging system to support cold weather operational testing in Alaska. They found their solution from Galvion Soldier Power LLC in Marlborough, Mass.
Officials of the U.S. Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG), Aberdeen Proving Ground, Natick Contracting Division in Natick, Mass., announced their intention Tuesday to award a sole-source contract to Galvion for the Squad Power Manager project. The value of the contract has yet to be negotiated.
The Galvion SPM622 60-Watt roll kit and cables will support cold weather testing in Alaska by enabling battery charging with two solar blankets and generator mains that use an AC-DC power adapter.
The SPM622 can charge a wide range of batteries such as the Army's Conformal Wearable Battery (CWB) and the BB-2590 family of batteries. It also supports power and charge capability for tactical radios like the Army AN/PRC 148, 152, 163, and the Persistent Systems MPU5 tactical military radio for unmanned vehicle control.
The SPM622’s bi-directional charging and load balancing capabilities can charge depleted batteries during testing to extend mission run times in austere environments. The SPM622 is the only readily available power management and recharging system that will be able to meet all of the requirements for this operational test, Army officials say.
The Galvion squad power system goes by the commercial name of Nerv Centr, which helps deployed soldiers store, deliver, harvest, and share power with reduced physical weight for operators on the battlefield.
Army soldiers today are part of a mobile network of users and radios, night-vision goggles (NVGs), Global Position System (GPS) receivers, smartphones, laptop computers, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and other electronic equipment, Galvion officials explain.
The challenge is the power all of these devices with batteries across long distances and for extended durations. The Galvion Nerv Centr power supply and management products enable users to manage power at the individual or squad level like they manage ammunition and water by making sure power is available when needed, with reduced logistics costs.
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The Galvion Nerv Centr power products include slim lithium batteries, power managers, and intelligent battery-charging systems. The slim lithium-ion units can store, deliver, and harvest power, while eliminating excess cabling and the need for spare batteries.
Nerv Center products use power managers and battery chargers that draw from any source to power equipment and recharge batteries simultaneously.
Nerv Centr systems include the SoloPack energy module that is the same size and weight as a 30 round ammunition magazine, and can provide enough energy for a 12-hour mission, Galvion officials say.
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The Squad Power Manager (SPM) and Individual Power Manager (IPM) are compact rugged power-management solutions with intelligent software that enable the users at the squad and individual level to power a variety of equipment and recharge batteries with no reprogramming required.
Nerv Center's Mission Adaptive Charging Station (MAX-8) can charge several batteries through custom-made adapters, while automatically evaluating the power source and adjusting charge rates to minimize charge time. Galvion has created power kits for the U.S. Marine Corps, Air National Guard, and other international operators, company officials say.
More information on this upcoming contract is online at https://sam.gov/opp/9ede5847ef7745b2b9718361c89ffe1f/view. For more information contact Galvion online at www.galvion.com, or the Army Contracting Command-Aberdeen Proving Ground at https://acc.army.mil/contractingcenters/acc-apg/about-us/.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
