GM Defense To Develop Ultium-Based Battery Pack Prototype For US Army

The GM unit has been selected to develop a battery pack prototype for testing and analysis on Department of Defense platforms.

By: Dan Mihalascu

Oct 7, 2022 at 1:51pm ET

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General Motors subsidiary GM Defense has been selected by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to develop a battery pack prototype for testing and analysis on Department of Defense platforms.

The DIU requires a scalable design that can be used for tactical military vehicles, and GM Defense will leverage GM's most advanced battery technology, the Ultium Platform, for that.

A Department of Defense organization, DIU has the goal to accelerate the adoption of commercial technology across the US military, which aligns with GM Defense's mission of leveraging GM's advanced technologies for global defense and government customers.

"Commercial battery electric technologies continue to mature. GM Defense offers a unique advantage with our ability to leverage proven commercial capabilities and the billions in GM investments in electric vehicle and autonomous vehicle technologies in order to help provide our customers with the most advanced capabilities the commercial market can offer."

Steve duMont, president of GM Defense

Gallery: GM Ultium Platform

General Motors says its Ultium Platform is the ideal candidate for such a project as the combined electric vehicle battery architecture and propulsion system can deliver power, range, and scale beyond any previous GM hybrid or extended range EV technology.

The Ultium Platform is modular and scalable, and the fact it uses different chemistries and cell form factors make it adaptable to changing needs and new technology insertions as they become available, according to GM Defense.

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This award comes not long after a similar announcement GM Defense made in July when it was selected by the US Army to provide a GMC Hummer EV Pickup for analysis and demonstration. The military said at the time it wanted to assess the electric pickup to see if it meets its requirement for a light- to heavy-duty battery EV that can support reduced reliance on fossil fuels in the operational and garrison environments.

Corroborating that with the latest announcement, one could speculate that the Ultium-based battery pack prototype GM Defense will be developing for the Department of Defense might be based on the GMC Hummer EV's mammoth battery with 217.2 kWh usable capacity. That's just speculation for now, but the photo GM Defense selected to accompany its press release shows just that, a Hummer EV battery pack.