Amprius Technologies Awarded U.S. Army Contract to Develop 100% Silicon Anode Li-Ion Batteries Using Si-Nanowire

Amprius Technologies announced a contract award with the U.S. Army’s Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO). The contract, an 18-month rapid prototyping effort, includes the design, development, and validation of state-of-the-art, high energy density lithium-ion batteries to be used in unmanned aircraft system (UAS) applications such as drone systems used by the U.S. Army.

With the surge of increasingly hostile and lethal battlefields, new technologies — including reconnaissance drones — are being deployed on a regular basis to help ensure safety. To be effective, the drones must be lightweight enough to be easily carried onto the field and provide enough flight time to complete mission objectives. This is a nearly impossible task with conventional batteries that are both heavy and offer limited flight time capabilities.

“Amprius’ proven superiority in specific energy and energy density with Si-Nanowire allows us to enable unprecedented performance in drones, effectively doubling the operational endurance of UAS,” said Ionel Stefan, chief technology officer of Amprius Technologies. “The need for innovative ways to support the men and women of our armed forces has never been greater and Amprius is proud to have been chosen to support this most worthy cause.”

Using Amprius’ Silicon Nanowire technology, the world’s only commercially available 100% Silicon Anode battery, U.S. military forces will be enabled with nearly 100% increased battery performance, doubling the run-time for all mobile-powered devices.

The Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office’s mission is to rapidly and efficiently research, develop, prototype, test, evaluate, procure, transition, and/or field critical enabling technologies and capabilities that address near-term and mid-term threats. The Office will produce or acquire materiel solutions consistent with the Army’s modernization priorities that maximize Soldiers’ capabilities to deploy, fight, and win on future battlefields.