Electrification is inevitable. Thanks to electric vehicle (“EV”) mandates and carbon emission standards, we will see electric cars steadily replace conventional vehicles on our roads until we eventually phase out the sale of new internal combustion engine (“ICE”) vehicles in the next couple of decades. Unfortunately, progress is slow in this segment, and players in the EV sector have turned their sights to one of the biggest spenders in the country: the U.S. Army.
To be fair, the Army seems to have given plenty of thought to electric vehicles. JP-8 has been the Army’s go-to fuel for quite a while, but it has recently been looking for alternative fuels. Theoretically, the service is in the perfect position to electrify its fleets, with a large checkbook to finance the whole thing and existing bases to install electric chargers. With EV makers turning to larger electric vehicles, they would be able to supply vehicles that could theoretically meet the army’s needs.
However, due to the Army’s unique activities, especially its penchant for going to extreme, far-flung destinations such as deserts, there are a lot of considerations. The service has not yet provided funding for research into electric infantry vehicles, so for the moment, auto makers looking to supply the Army’s fleets will have to handle research and development on their own dime. In June, for instance, General Motors subsidiary GM Defense introduced its new U.S. Army Infantry Squad to several army officials at its Michigan-based Milford Proving Grounds.
Auto makers aren’t looking to develop electrified versions of combat vehicles such as Abrams tanks, Bradley Infantry fighting vehicles and Stryker Combat vehicles. Given how much electric power would be needed to power these vehicles due to their immense size and weight, it just wouldn’t be feasible at the moment to make those vehicles electric. On the bright side, tactical fleets would be more amenable to electrification, but again, thanks to where the Army goes and what it does, there will be strict considerations.
For starters, how would vehicles out on the battlefield recharge? Michael Cadieux, the director of the Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Ground Vehicle Systems, says infantry EVs would have to either bring extra power with them or have it delivered to the battlefield. Plus, these EVs would have to be able to withstand extreme combat environments such as extreme temperatures, enemy weaponry and even shrapnel. Additionally, infantry EVs would have to carry a ton of heavy armor and mission packages, which would increase power consumption.
Cadieux says the Army has invested around $75 million on battery and electrification technology in the last five years. Financial year 2022 will see the service invest $50 million more in developing electric and mobility technology. If experts are able to clear the hurdles that are currently slowing down the development of electric vehicles for the U.S. Army, we may see EV makers unveil EVs for combat situations in the future.
That future may not be so far off, especially with many companies such as Ideanomics Inc. (NASDAQ: IDEX) investing in different segments of the EV industry so that the uptake of this new form of vehicular transport is accelerated.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Ideanomics Inc. (NASDAQ: IDEX) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/IDEX
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