T. Vosburgh
Coulomb Technology, Tennessee, United States
Keywords: DC microgrid, Sodium-Ion, BESS, Starter Battery, 6T, Energy Storage
The military spends $1B/year on batteries and $100M on starter batteries. Their vehicles, generators, and field equipment rely on 12V and 24V starter batteries that often sit unused for long periods, operate in extreme temperatures, and must work immediately when needed. Coulomb solves this problem by using our U.S.-made cylindrical NaCrO2 sodium-ion cells and integrating them into US made 12V and 24V battery packs for military vehicles, generators, communications equipment, and field power systems. The company has exclusively licensed the NaCrO2 chemistry and is using a U.S. cylindrical cell manufacturing path to produce cells that can be packaged into lead-acid replacement starter batteries, UPS/bridge-power systems, BB-2590-class packs, and tactical power products. Coulomb’s packs combine the cells with a custom BMS, cell-level sensing, safety disconnects, communications, and ruggedized packaging to manage state of charge, state of health, protection, diagnostics, and field operation. The approach changes the outcome by giving defense and fleet customers a domestic, non-lithium battery platform designed for long storage, high-power starting, cold-weather use, and lower maintenance than legacy lead-acid systems.