Solving the battery technology problem, electric tanks will be silent killers on the battlefield

Currently, the auto industry is facing increasingly stringent regulations on emission standards and environmental protection, most major automakers have announced that they will only sell electric vehicles (EVs) after 2030.

In late 2021, US President Biden signed an executive order allowing the electrification of certain vehicles moving within military bases/barracks.

Accordingly, the use of light electric vehicles will be mandatory by 2027 and medium to heavy electric vehicles by 2035.

This is considered a move by politicians to prepare for the deployment of electric tanks in the near future.

2022 ford f 150 lightning pro 4.jpeg — Ford’s F-150 Lightnings are now used in all transportation operations at Fort Moore. After converting to electric vehicles across the 280-square-mile base with 120,000 service members, Fort Moore has reduced carbon emissions by about 1,000 tons per year (worth $2.5 million) and saved about $40,000 in fuel costs.

Reduced hazard, noise and maintenance costs

Transporting fuel for internal combustion engine vehicles is difficult, expensive and dangerous, so switching to electric vehicles could eliminate dependence on a cumbersome and vulnerable supply chain and significantly reduce carbon emissions.

Furthermore, electric vehicles are also much quieter than internal combustion engine vehicles. In fact, civilian electric vehicles in the US are required to have noise-generating devices when traveling below 30 km/h to ensure that pedestrians can hear them.

Electric vehicles are better able to hide on the battlefield, especially at night, thanks to their quieter operation and are also able to evade heat-seeking devices due to their low heat emission.

Additionally, electric vehicles can serve as a backup mobile power source for other combat equipment.

infantry fighting vehicle.jpg — The US is testing electrification of infantry fighting vehicles.

Finally, the propulsion system of electric vehicles is much simpler than that of internal combustion engine vehicles, fewer moving parts means fewer possible failures, reducing the rate of maintenance time spent in the workshop. This in turn improves the operational efficiency and safety of military vehicles.

Battery technology weaknesses

Electric vehicles cannot yet meet long-distance requirements. In addition, there is the problem of weight due to the inherent characteristics of military vehicles, which are considered heavy due to the need to equip them with thick steel armor and armed equipment for self-defense.

Even level 3 charging stations (the fastest available today) still take hours to fully charge electric vehicles.

Therefore, the transition roadmap will likely be conducted through the intermediate stage of hybrid vehicles before moving towards fully electrified vehicles.

New technologies are expensive when they first come out, and only become more affordable over time. Even though the cost of electric car batteries has dropped 80 percent in the past 10 years and is currently subsidized by the U.S. government by up to $7,500 per car sold, the average price of an electric car is still $53,469, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Batteries are what are making the asking price of electric cars so much higher than internal combustion engine vehicles.

Starting in 2021, the US Department of Defense will convert one of its infantry fighting vehicles (ISVs) to electric-only (eISVs), laying the groundwork for electric vehicles on the battlefield.

GM Defense says it is developing a “next-generation family of lightweight tactical electric vehicles” with hybrid powertrains to bridge the gap toward a future of all-electric vehicles.

Next, the US military will likely deploy hybrid technology with powertrains that use electric motors in parallel with internal combustion engines to optimize efficiency as well as allow vehicles to recharge their batteries through regenerative braking.

This not only reduces the amount of fuel needed to transport, but could also allow military facilities to test electric charging infrastructure, bolstering the case for future hybrid vehicle adoption.

(According to PopMech)

Using cement to make supercapacitors to store energy to charge electric vehicles

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) have turned common materials into energy storage sources. Supercapacitors made from this material are used to store energy collected from solar panels to charge electric vehicles.