Navy seeks new battery charger/analyzer

Officials of the U.S. Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division in Crane, Ind., were set to release a request for proposals in mid-November for the second phase of a program to introduce a new battery charger/analyzer for shipboard batteries. This effort, phase 2 of the Navy`s Sustainable Hardware and Affordable Readiness Practices (SHARP) program, seeks to develop a charger/analyzer that uses commercially developed technology to assess battery conditions such as state of charge, broken components, and low electrolyte. The first phase of the SHARP program, which was to develop charger hardware and a control software algorithm, awarded contracts to AlliedSignal, Eagle Pitcher Technologies, and Neptune Sciences. For more information, contact Don Mains, the battery program manager at Crane, by phone at 812-854-3112.- J.K.