Lucid Motors Awarded Military Battery Contract

Lucid will develop battery modules for the Department of Defense to test towards the electrification of military platforms.

Lucid will develop battery modules for the Department of Defense to test towards the electrification of military platforms along with Canoo, GM Defense and two other companies that are yet to be named.

The contracts charge Lucid and Canoo with developing batteries that can be standardized across a range of military applications. In return, the companies will receive research funding and the revenue that comes with having one of the world's largest militaries as a customer.

The Lucid Air's battery technology is one of the cornerstones of its record-breaking range.

Lucid's Role
The contracts aim to reduce or eliminate barriers standing between the commercial sector and the military. Lucid is tasked with developing a version of its high-voltage battery systems specifically for EV tactical military vehicles.

"The Defense Department is looking to enlist commercial building block batteries as part of a broad strategy for integrating the technology into military use. Our strategy is to learn how large of a building block we can leverage, how to package the commercial technology into non-proprietary defense interfaces, and how to integrate batteries evolving at the speed of industry into defense platforms with static structures." - Daphne Fuentevilla, Deputy Director at the Department of the Navy Operational Energy

Like this but with cannons.

Jumpstart for Advanced Battery Standardization Project
Lucid, Canoo, GM Defense and the other two companies will also take part in the DoD's Jumpstart for Advanced Battery Standardization project which will allow manufacturers to design and develop batteries that are tailor made for the rigors of military application. In addition to its battery technology, Canoo will research ways to integrate electric power sources into future military applications while GM Defence will adapt its Ultium platform to do the same.

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Images by Lucid Motors and Canoo licensed by CC BY 4.0.

James Walker is an Automotive Journalist at Torque News focusing on Lucid Motors. If it's got wheels he's interested, and he's looking forward to seeing what kind of cars the EV revolution brings us. Whether it's fast, slow, new, or old, James wants to have a look around it and share it in print and on video, ideally with some twisty roads involved. You can connect with James on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.