Saft plans battery for 'mobile utility system'

Bagnolet, France-based Saft has signed an agreement to supply battery technology to power Titan Energy Development's mobile utility system for military and emergency situations.

Financial terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Titan Energy Development plans to use Saft's rechargeable lithium ion battery in the Renewable Energy Mobile Utility System (REMUS), which incorporates wind, solar and battery power to supplement a diesel generator.

Titan Energy said REMUS can provide utility-scale electricity in situations where continued fuel sources are unavailable or expensive. The REMUS is expected to provide electricity, heating and cooling for a military depot and communication suite, or during natural disaster response-and-relief efforts.

Titan is working with Michigan nonprofit research catalyst NextEnergy and the Defense Logistics Agency on the project through funding from the Department of Defense. Titan Energy Development is a subsidiary of New Hudson, Mich.-based Titan Energy Worldwide.

Saft's rechargeable lithium-ion battery system is part of its standard line of products for hybrid-electric military vehicles. The system recharges using renewable energy generated by the trailer's wind turbines and solar panels.

Saft's technology is already being used for military applications. In April, Saft signed a multiyear contract with London's BAE Systems (LSE:BA) to supply lithium-ion batteries for the U.S. Army's Future Combat Systems vehicles (see Saft gets follow-on contract for hybrid combat vehicle).

In August, Saft's joint venture with Milwaukee, Wis.-based Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) received an $8.2 million contract to develop a plug-in hybrid-electric battery for the U.S. Advanced Battery Consortium and the U.S. Department of Energy (see Johnson Controls-Saft gets $8.2M for battery project). 

Founded in 1918 as the Société des Accumulateurs Fixes et de Traction, Saft develops high-performance nickel-cadmium and lithium-ion batteries for industrial infrastructure and processes, transportation, space, and defense.