Portable Power Of The Impressive Kind For UAVs + Warfighters

The Defense Department is stepping up efforts to provide warfighters with reliable, long-lasting as well as low-weight portable power.

Specifically, the military is working with companies to integrate fuel-cell technology into mobile and off-grid power applications. Fuel cells would complement conventional batteries or eventually replace them. The Air Force Special Operations Command is evaluating technology from SFC Smart Fuel Cell to reduce the battery weight special forces carry into the field and eventually power unmanned aerial vehicles. Meanwhile, the Army is working with UltraCell to develop fuel-cell systems for mobile applications and increase the performance of equipment that must operate at high altitudes and temperatures.

A fuel cell directly transforms chemical energy into electrical energy with no intermediate steps or moving parts and no significant loss of energy, said Peter Podesser, chief executive officer of SFC. The company designed its Jenny fuel cell for use by special forces. It can be worn or connected to devices to power remote applications. A warfighter carries it along with small fuel cartridges that contain certified ultra-pure methanol. The system can power devices such as night-vision equipment, Global Positioning System devices, radio systems and rugged laptop PCs. The Jenny 600S connects to a secondary battery and monitors its voltage continually. When necessary, it automatically turns on to recharge the battery. Once the battery is recharged, the Jenny reverts to silent standby mode. SFC said the Jenny weighs a little more than 2 pounds and can reduce the weight a soldier must carry by as much as 80 percent compared to traditional batteries.

“What we are trying to bring to our users is a lightweight, low-emission energy source,” Podesser said. “The biggest advantage of our system kicks in [when] working as a hybrid together with batteries, reducing the weight for a 72-hour mission by 70 to 80 percent compared to a mere battery solution.” That type of weight reduction is one reason the Air Force Special Operations Command is interested in the technology, said Lt. Mark Roosz, who works on fuel-cell technology at the Air Force Research Laboratory. The service’s special operations forces work with the other military branches’ special forces units to coordinate air strikes on hostile targets. For that purpose, they carry computers, range finders, radios and satellite communications equipment — a host of electronic devices that the typical ground soldier does not have, Roosz said. (Source: Rutrell Yasin, Government Computer News)