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Electric vehicle charging company Tritium has been selected to take part in a program intended to transition the US army fleet to electric vehicles.
The Brisbane-based company, which is backed by the St Baker Energy Innovation fund, and which has a range of high-powered DC fast-charging units deployed in more than 33 countries worldwide, has been selected for the US army’s Power Transfer Cohort program that will identify if a complete fleet transition is feasible.
The US army fleet has nearly 225,000 vehicles of very diverse shapes and sizes, and that must operate in demanding and remote environments.
Transitioning the fleet to clean electric drivetrains is no mean feat, but the scale of its success may well fall to Tritium, which is the only DC fast charging provider to be selected for the program.
“Tritium specializes in hardware and software designed to work reliably in any high demand environment, including extreme climate conditions. We are thrilled to be working with the Army Application Laboratory on this important initiative to provide a rapid charging solution for a diverse set of vehicles,” Tritium’s president in the US, Mike Calise, said in a statement.
“Our company’s innovative, scalable, and future-proof technology will be a great addition to help power the Army’s fleet.”
Cohort programs such as this are set up by the US army to engage companies that do not typically work with the US Department of Defense (DoD) projects.
As a participant in the program, Tritium will help identify and explore solutions that will allow remote access to rapid recharging.
It will also explore the use of scalable infrastructure: in late 2020, Tritium launched a “pay as you grow” scalable charging platform that allows charging providers to start small and increase charging capacity as fleets demand it.
The $100,000 contract will see a concept design solving a specific problem presented to Army stakeholders after the eight-week program which finished on May 20, 2021. Its success could see further funding awarded to Tritium.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.
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