Protonex awarded US army contract

Protonex Technology Corporation, provider of fuel cell power systems for portable,
remote and mobile applications, today announces that it will develop a tailored, soldier-borne power manager for the US Army, which will dramatically reduce the soldiers' logistics burden supply, a critical step in minimizing the numbers and different types of power sources a soldier must carry. This work will be completed under an awarded $389,325 contract with the US Army Research Office (ARO) and will draw on continuing developments by Protonex of its power and battery management technologies.

Under the terms of this 10-month contract, Protonex will rapidly evolve its
current man-portable power manager system making it smaller, lighter and
easier to configure for a variety of different loads. The resulting Protonex
high-performance power manager is expected to address the burdensome
inefficiencies of existing battery and power management technologies by
matching virtually any load with any available power source (e.g. batteries,
fuel cells, solar) - enabling the military to more efficiently use their
available energy sources for a wide range of applications.

The new system design will combine advances in ultra-high efficiency power
conversion, power management and battery charging technology into one product
solution. Capabilities of the enhanced power manager system will include:
soldier battery monitoring, management and charging, power delivery to soldier
systems, as well as advanced power harvesting and scavenging from available
energy sources.

"Working with the US Army on this program, we will speed the refinement of our
advanced portable power manager product, making it a more universal,
invaluable power solution for soldiers," stated Greg Cipriano, VP, Marketing
and Military Development for Protonex Technology Corporation. "This new
contract represents valued follow-on support by ARO, which will enable us to
provide critical tools for various military applications. We also expect to
leverage this advanced technology into other core products for both military
and commercial customers."

Source: Fuel Cell Today