Amprius Technologies has reported the successful volume shipment of advanced battery cells in a program supported by the U.S. Army by the end of 2023 as previously committed.
This marks a significant milestone for Amprius in its U.S. Army-funded Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) program, an industrial preparedness effort focused on scaling critical Army-wide manufacturing requirements.
Amprius has successfully completed its scale-up manufacturing initiative under ManTech (a $3 million development program grant), which included the delivery of safe cells for soldier-worn battery packs that merge technology for mass production with a mission-critical product, thereby facilitating large-scale deployments. Amprius, while working closely with its partner, Inventus Power, has fulfilled the shipment of the silicon anode safe cells to support delivery of the Conformal Wearable Batteries (CWB) packs to the U.S. Army.
“We are honored to have collaborated with ManTech on this critical initiative to meet the U.S. Army’s manufacturing needs for power sources,” said Dr. Kang Sun, Amprius Technologies CEO. “Our cells, which have passed the nail penetration test, provide safe power solutions for U.S. Army batteries while more than doubling their energy. Amprius’ silicon anode batteries provide significantly higher energy density and double the mission time compared to existing power resources. We’re dedicated to providing battery technology advancements that transcend current limitations and chart the course for future military power sources that supply game-changing performance for our soldiers.”
These shipments are also part of a larger program as outlined in a briefing on a U.S. Department of Defense Contract from May of 2021, which outlined Inventus Power as a participant in a competition to supply conformal wearable batteries to the U.S. Army. The wearable battery market represents a significant market opportunity for Amprius, with a total value of $1.25 billion through 2030.
In addition to expanding the company’s relationship with the U.S. military, Amprius’ ManTech grant provided the company with an opportunity to further optimize the process for Amprius’ silicon nanowire technology mass production. Today, Amprius is finalizing its automation, testing and manufacturing process cost-reduction initiatives in order to prepare for large-scale production in Colorado targeted to be operational in 2025.