Californian high-tech advanced mobility company Canoo announced that the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) significantly expanded the scope of its previously announced partnership.
The company says it has leveraged it advanced commercial battery and integration expertise to deliver to the Department of Defense partners a technologically advanced battery pack that can be scaled for use on operational military platforms and will set the stage for standardization of energy dense lithium batteries for the U.S. Navy. This follows DIU’s testing and analysis of Canoo’s proprietary technology since February 2023.
This announcement further DIU’s Jumpstart for Advanced Battery Standardization (JABS) program (DoD Prototyping Commercial Batteries To Electrify Future Military Platforms (diu.mil). JABS accelerates “form-fit-function battery standards for defense” by using proven and protected commercial EV battery technologies for military use.
“We are honored to deepen our collaboration with the Department of Defense,” says Tony Aquila. Chairman and CEO, Canoo. “We are inspired by their leadership and focus on encouraging American innovation. A core value to our re-founding is to invent and leverage our technology to contribute to our nation’s leadership in defense technology. We are guided by our commitment to continuously innovating our patented technologies to better equip our partners to win whether it be in commercial or consumer markets, or in aiding our nation’s defense.”
Canoo’s proprietary battery system is modular and offers industry-leading performance features, supporting various military applications and configurations. Designed for flexibility, modularity, and compatibility, Canoo’s battery system is future proofed in its capability to incorporate the latest advancements of battery technology. Canoo’s agreement with DIU will be instrumental in achieving strategic energy resilience.
Canoo has a battery module manufacturing facility at MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor, Oklahoma, within the Cherokee Nation. In phase one, the new facility will create over 200 advanced manufacturing jobs. In addition, Canoo will be the first technology company to produce battery modules and packs primarily using hydro and wind power sources from the Grand River Dam Authority based in Oklahoma, Aquila notes.The DIU partnership expansion further validates Canoo’s technological and operational reliability as a select partner for some of the U.S. government’s most demanding projects, such as: Delivering the Light Tactical Vehicle (LTV) to the U.S. Army and supplying Crew Transportation Vehicles (CTVs) to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the Artemis lunar landing missions.
