South 8 awarded $1.6M U.S. Army contract to prototype military battery packs for extreme climates

South 8 Technologies, the developer of LiGas, a liquefied gas electrolyte for advanced lithium-ion batteries, announced today that the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) C5ISR Center has awarded a $1.6 million contract to a team of companies led by South 8 to demonstrate standardized lithium-ion battery packs for defense applications. South 8 is partnering with a battery cell manufacturer and a leading vendor of battery packs to deliver prototypes that will offer a broad operating temperature range and high performance in extreme cold environments to the U.S. Army.

The standardized battery pack will contain 24 of South 8’s Arctic LiGas 18650 cells. South 8’s LiGas is a liquefied gas electrolyte that dramatically improves the energy performance, safety, charging speed, and cost of Li-ion batteries, providing high performance in extreme cold weather. Since LiGas alleviates many common concerns associated with Li-ion batteries, the prototype battery packs will be more capable than traditional packs and ideal for various military applications including radios, communication systems, and night vision goggles in any extreme climate.

“We're grateful to have continued support from the U.S. Army DEVCOM C5ISR Center to develop improved Li-ion battery systems that can power military devices during critical missions in cold climates,” says Rusty Heffner, Vice President of Strategy at South 8. “This prototyping effort brings us one step closer to qualifying LiGas battery cells in a standardized battery pack that will provide a unique capability to the U.S. military, especially units that are deployed in the Arctic.”

This new effort follows two other projects for South 8 this year with the U.S. Army’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) as part of its Family of Advanced Standard Batteries (FAStBat) program. Under the first $6.4 million contract, South 8 is collaborating with NanoGraf to deliver higher energy, safer, and higher-performing batteries for soldiers by developing a high-rate injection system for its LiGas electrolyte that will bolster domestic production of Li-ion batteries. South 8 and NanoGraf are also working alongside Pale Blue Earth as part of another contract to prototype the first Operational Single Cell for Accessory Readiness (OSCAR) batteries that to provide sustainable, rechargeable energy storage that is domestically-produced and that reduces the battery burden on soldiers in the field.